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An awkward toast, sideways glances, a stiff handshake. Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin aren't just geostrategic rivals. They are two guys who simply don't like each other. That much seemed clear after Monday's action at the United Nations in New York, where Obama and Putin sat uncomfortably together at a lunch, then met privately for a 90-minute session which appeared to yield no breakthroughs on the major differences between them. Skipping any pretense of bonhomie, a senior administration official said the men had a "business-like back and forth," dividing their time between Ukraine and Syria. Putin echoed that language, calling...

Vladimir Putin probably had to wait 20 minutes for an elevator. Yeah, that's the ticket . . . Josh Earnest, Barack Obama's spokesman, has excused Vladimir Putin's snub of the President of the United States, in which the Russian strongman turned up 20 minutes late for their lunch at the UN yesterday. On today's Morning Joe, Earnest lamely defended Vlad's tardiness: "anybody that's been around the UN during the General Assembly knows it's total chaos inside that building, so people ae running late quite frequently. " Right. And if you believe that, we've got an oceanfront condo in Moscow to...

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the meeting between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City: “President Obama's decision to meet with Vladimir Putin is as misguided as it is unnecessary. It plays right into Putin's hands by breaking his international isolation, undermining U.S. policy, and legitimizing Putin's destabilizing behavior – from dismembering Ukraine to propping Bashar Assad in Syria. “The White House has said that it wants to de-conflict U.S. and Russian military operations in...

The following statement was issued by the White House on President Barack Obama’s decision not to hold a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Following a careful review begun in July, we have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a U.S.-Russia Summit in early September. We value the achievements made with Russia in the President’s first term, including the New START Treaty, and cooperation on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea. However, given our lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and...

n a rare diplomatic snub, President Obama is canceling plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month. The decision reflects both U.S. anger over Russia's harboring of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and growing frustration within the Obama administration over what it sees as Moscow's stubbornness on other key issues, including missile defense and human rights. Obama will still attend the Group of 20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, but a top White House official said the president had no plans to hold one-on-one talks with Putin while there. Instead of visiting Putin in...