I'm sorry, but does President Putin believe he is a character witness for Assad?
Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday it would be "utter nonsense" for the Syrian government to use chemical weapons when it was winning its war with rebels, and urged U.S. President Barack Obama not to attack Syrian forces.
One, I don't believe Assad is winning his war.
Two, I suppose it makes sense in that Russia would have advised taking care of rebels in a different manner altogether.