Showdown: Obama gives Putin an icy stare during luncheon toast after dueling UN speeches over Syria, ISIS and Ukraine

• Putin shamed the United States for attempting to 'export' its version of democracy to Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011
• Obama slapped Putin for supporting Syrian 'tyrant' Bashar al-Assad, who he said 'drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children' 
• Shortly after 5 pm Eastern, the world leaders were meeting in private, but they came face-to-face during a luncheon
• The two heads of state have not had a formal, in-person conversation since Russian separatists invaded Eastern Ukraine last year 
• Top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, John McCain, says Obama is playing 'right into Putin's hands' in taking the meeting

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 02:29 EST, 28 September 2015 | Updated: 12:22 EST, 29 September 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin fought for the soul of the United Nations this morning in dueling General Assembly speeches centered on the bloodshed in Iraq and Syria that renewed hostility between the two countries.

At a luncheon for world leaders after their speeches, Putin celebrated, smiling as he touched his glass to Obama's during a toast by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

In return, he received an icy stare from Obama, who diplomatically clinked his glass in return.

Their earlier trading of barbs encompassed the Kremlin's military involvement in Ukraine and its support of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whom Obama referred to in his remarks as a 'tyrant' who 'drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children' that must be removed from power.

Putin likewise shamed the United States for attempting to 'export' its version of democracy to Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011.

The United States' interference in the countries 'resulted in a brazen destruction of national institutions and the lifestyle itself,' Putin said, per an interpreter. 'Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty' and 'social disaster.'

The deposing of those countries' leaders likewise created power vacuums, Putin said, that were filled by extremists and terrorists like ISIS, which has since expanded its reaches to countries other than Iraq in the Middle East such as Syria.

'I cannot help but ask those who have caused this situation, do you realize now what you've done?' Putin boldly stated. 'But I'm afraid no one is going to answer that.'

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COLD WAR: U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia President Vladimir Putin clinked glasses during a toast by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon this afternoon. Putin looked pleased with himself as Obama diplomatically touched his glass and gave his an icy state

Obama and Putin fought for the soul of the United Nations this morning in dueling General Assembly speeches centered on the bloodshed in Iraq and Syria

STRAINED: The relationship between Obama and Putin frosted over last year when Russian-backed separatists invaded Ukraine. After their dueling speeches today, they sat at the same table during a luncheon for world leaders. Later, they's meet privately

 In his speech, which came after Obama's, Putin shamed of the United States for attempting to 'export' its version of democracy to Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011

Obama had earlier stated that the U.S. is willing to work with any nation to counter ISIS in Iraq and Syria - including Russia and Iran - but any solution to the current violence there must involve a transition away from Assad's leadership to a new, inclusive government

Obama had earlier admitted during his remarks that 'even as we helped the Libyan people bring an end to the reign of a tyrant, our coalition could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind.'

Still he said, any solution to the current violence in Syria must involve a transition away from Assad's leadership to a new, inclusive government.

Alluding to Russia's actions at home and abroad, Obama said 'some major powers assert themselves in ways that contravene international law' and restrict the flow of information in their countries and ability of their people to participate in civil society.

'We're told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder, that it's the only way to stamp out terrorism or prevent foreign meddling,' Obama said. 'In accordance with this logic, we should support tyrants like Bashar al-Assad, who drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children, because the alternative is surely worse.'

He further accused them of 'flagrantly' violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine. 

'We recognize the deep and complex history between Russia and Ukraine,' he said. 'Imagine if, instead, Russia had engaged in true diplomacy, and worked with Ukraine and the international community to ensure its interests were protected.'

More of the latest news and updates on Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin's showdown

Alluding to Russia's actions at home and abroad, Obama said 'some major powers assert themselves in ways that contravene international law' and restrict the flow of information in their countries and ability of their people to participate in civil society

That course of action would have been better for Ukraine, for Russia, and the world, Obama argued, and wouldn't have resulted in the sanctions that the US and its allies authorized on its economy. 

The US does not 'desire' a return to the Cold War, Obama said, nor does it 'want to isolate' Russia. 'We want a strong Russia that’s invested in working with us to strengthen the international system as a whole,' he stated.

Obama was met with applause after he said, 'Catastrophes, like what we are seeing in Syria, do not take place in countries where there is genuine democracy and respect for the universal values this institution is supposed to defend.'

'I recognize that democracy is going to take different forms in different parts of the world,' he said. 'The very idea of a people governing themselves depends upon government giving expression to their unique culture, their unique history, their unique experiences.'

However, he said, 'some universal truths are self-evident' - freedom of religion, the immorality of sexual assault, the right of every woman to receive an education, freedom of expression - and 'these are not ideas of one country or one culture.'

'They are fundamental to human progress. They are a cornerstone of this institution,' Obama said.

Continuing, he said, 'I realize that in many parts of the world there is a different view -- a belief that strong leadership must tolerate no dissent...I disagree. I believe a government that suppresses peaceful dissent is not showing strength; it is showing weakness and it is showing fear.

And 'history shows that regimes who fear their own people will eventually crumble, but strong institutions built on the consent of the governed endure long after any one individual is gone.' 

Shaky ground: Putin appears hesitant as President Obama offers his hand to shake during the UN conference 

The eyes have it: Putin and Obama lock hands... but their stare reveals no love is lost between the pair of world leaders 

Putin presented an alternative recording of history: the United States as a country so high on its power after the Cold War that it continually puts its nose - and its military might - where it doesn't belong based on a misplaced belief in the 'exceptionalism' of its political system.

'We all know that after the Cold War...a single center of domination emerged in the world, and then those who found themselves at the top of the pyramid were tempted to think that if they were so strong and exceptional, they knew better and they did not have to reckon with the UN,' Putin asserted.  

The Russian leader said, 'No one should have to conform to a single development mode that someone has once and for all recognized as the only right one' and gave his colleagues a post-Cold War history lesson in which the United States was portrayed as a bully rather than a superpower seizing opportunities to spread freedom. 

Putin said Cold War thinking still guides some of the UN member nations and that is why the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, continued to build up its military even after the fall of the Soviet Union.

NATO, which counts the US, UK, France and Germany among its membership, 'offered the poor Soviet countries a false choice - either to be with the West or be with the East.'

'Sooner or later this logic of confrontation was bound to spark off a grave geopolitical crisis,' Putin contended. 'This is exactly what happened in Ukraine, where the discontent of population with the current authorities was used and a military coup was orchestrated from outside.'

That led to civil war and the splitting off of Crimea from the rest of Ukraine, he claimed, making no mention of the military role his country is said to have played in the conflict.

'We are facing extraordinary challenges today, ones that test our capacity to work together,' Obama said during his toast

US President Barack Obama speaks at the start of the luncheon

Russian President President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

U.S. President Barack Obama looks down during the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at the United Nations General Assembly 

The public battle between the two heads of state over the future of the United Nations continued to play out over lunch, where they were seated on either side of the UN Secretary General Ban. 

Obama and Putin met just after 5pm in New York for a private discussion on Syria and Ukraine.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain, warned Obama this morning that he was playing 'right into Putin's hands' in agreeing to talk. The meeting is not only 'unnecessary' but 'misguided,' McCain said and could 'embolden' him.

The two presidents have not had a formal, in-person conversation since Russian separatists invaded Eastern Ukraine last year and siphoned off the Crimea. 

Obama and Putin have been able to work together on an accord with four other nations to halt Iran's nuclear program, but they sharply disagree over what the White House says is Russia's continued 'violation of the territorial integrity' of Ukraine. 

The White House said Obama would make 'crystal-clear' to Putin that Russia needs to disentangle itself from the military conflict in Ukraine at the meeting, and he would give the foreign leader the opportunity to explain his actions in Syria.

It said the meeting came at Putin's request and it obliged at the urging of its European allies. A spokesman for the Kremlin said it came about as part of a 'mutual agreement' between the U.S. and Russia. however.   

Obama's spokesman told reporters last week that while he didn't expect the president to display 'overt hostility' toward Putin, 'there's some serious issues that the United states and Russia have to discuss.'

'And the president's not going to shy away from raising our significant concerns with Russia's behavior in Ukraine and other places around the world,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Earnest said a discussion on Russia's ongoing violation of an international agreement that prohibits it from aiding and abetting the separatists would be Obama's 'top priority' in the meeting.

They were also to discuss the crisis in Syria and Russia's military presence there, which is being viewed as an effort aimed at 'propping up' the country's embattled dictator, Assad, rather one that's focused on forcing ISIS out.

'Look, President Putin requested the meeting, and I think at this point, considering the significant concerns that I have just raised I think it makes sense for President Obama to sit down with his counterpart and see if he can get some greater clarity about Russia's intentions inside of Ukraine,' he said, 'and whether or not they're willing to at least consider President Obama's advice when it comes to the Assad regime,' Earnest had said.

Speaking to 60 Minutes' Charlie Rose (left) Putin he's not planning to put boots  on the ground, as earlier reports have stated and intelligence suggests

Russian equipment such as tanks and artillery pieces have already been delivered to the Assad regime, and satellite images released over the weekend seem to suggest jets and helicopters have also appeared

The U.S. president has described his relationship with the Russian head of state as 'blunt' and 'businesslike.' 

Previewing the meeting, his spokesman had acknowledged that the relationship could downgrade to 'cool' and 'chilly' depending on the outcome, which he also admitted could be 'tense.'

In that setting, Earnest said, Obama will 'make clear once again that Russia doubling down' on support for Assad 'is a losing bet' that doesn't serve the interests of either the Russian people or the American people.

The U.S., he said, would like to see Russia 'make a constructive contribution,' to the 60-nation alliance that's already fighting ISIS.

The president's senior director for Russia in the National Security Council, Celeste Wallander, told reporters on a Thursday evening call that Putin's claim that the best way to defeat ISIS, aka ISIL, is to work with Assad is 'backwards.'

'Since that argument doesn’t fit with our understanding of what’s necessary to counter ISIL, it doesn’t really hold water as far as we’re concerned,' she said. 

'We’re going to use the opportunity to talk to President Putin and understand what he means by that, and make clear what we think is necessary to successfully counter ISIL, and test whether Russia’s efforts to basically deal itself in to a counter-ISIL effort will yield a constructive approach.'

Putin contended in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday evening that previous reports are wrong and his country has no intention of putting boots on the ground in Syria while reiterating his belief that Assad should remain atop the country's government.

'It's my deep belief that any actions to destroy the legitimate government will create a situation which you can witness now in the other countries of the region or in other regions, for instance in Libya where all the state institutions are disintegrated,' he said.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman McCain this morning questioned the wisdom of meeting on Putin's terms. 

Remarking on the White House's 'confusion about Putin's intentions and plans in Syria,' he said, 'If that is actually true, then the United States is in even worse trouble than many fear, because it is not at all hard to discern what Putin wants.'

'In fact, from Russia's military build-up in Syria, to its recently announced military and intelligence coalition with Syria, Iran, and Iraq, Putin's ambitions are blindingly obvious: He wants to prop up Assad, play kingmaker in any transition, undermine U.S. policy and operations, and ultimately expand Russian power in the Middle East to a degree unseen for the past four decades.'

'None of this requires President Obama to meet with Putin. That will only make matters worse,'McCain said, ahead of Putin's speech.

The White House had previously said Syria would be on the agenda today but, the situation in Ukraine is the one Obama believes 'is most pressing.'

The U.S. and Russia don't see eye-to-eye on that, either. 

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last week, 'Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.'

According to Al Jazeera, he told a reporter on a call that Ukraine would only come up 'if time allows.'

'There will be time,' Obama's spokesman asserted after he was asked about Peskov's remark.

Outlining his global priorities today at the UN, Putin said, 'Above all, I believe it is of the utmost importance to help restore government institutions in Libya, support the new government of Iraq, and provide comprehensive assistance to legitimate government of Syria.'

His comments on Libya, and his slap at the United States for the role it played in the outing of the country's now-deceased dictator Muammar Gaddafi indicated that the North African country would also be a topic of conversation today between he and Obama.

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