Putin urges Obama not to intervene in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Saturday his US counterpart Barack Obama as a Nobel Peace Prize winner while urging the latter not to initiate armed intervention into Syria, Xinhua reported.

"What would I say (to Obama)? I would address him not as a counterpart, not as a US president, not as a head of state, but as a Nobel Peace Prize winner," Putin said on a visit to Vladivostok amid bubbling Western attempts to hit the Syrian government.

Recalling US military move in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Russian leader asked: "Has it settled any problem?"

"There is no calm, no democracy, which allegedly was the aim of our partners. There is no civil peace and balance," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

Putin said allegations that the Syrian army used chemical weapons were "utter nonsense" as it was on the offensive side.

"It defies any logic, especially on the day when UN monitors went there," he said.

Putin said he did not discuss the situation with Obama after the accusations were made, saying the upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) summit due next month in St. Petersburg would be "a good forum" for that.

The Russian leader hailed the British parliament's 285 to 272 vote Thursday to drop participation in possible military operation, saying "there are people guided by common sense there."