[E212]Obama and Putin set for U.N. showdown, but differ on ……

President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in New York next week at a time of high tension in Europe and the Middle East, but the Kremlin[克里姆林宫] and the White House disagreed on Thursday about the top priority for the talks. The White House insisted that the meeting would focus on eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed forces are fighting the Kiev[基辅（乌克兰共和国首都）] government, prompting tough sanctions[严厉制裁] that have damaged Russia’s economy. Moscow, however, said that the main focus would be on Syria, where Russia has built up its military forces in recent weeks with combat aircraft[战斗机], tanks and other equipment in support of President Bashar al-Assad[巴沙尔·阿萨德(叙利亚总统)].

Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov