Obama Wants Ukraine Deal, 'Not Optimistic' Over Syria

During a wide-ranging press conference in Peru on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Obama said he talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 20 about Ukraine and the "need for us to get things done." "I urged him to instruct his negotiators to work with ourselves, with France, with Germany, with Ukraine to see if we can get that done before my term is up," Obama added. Moscow has backed pro-Russia separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, where the conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's shock election victory has been met with trepidation in Kyiv because of the billionaire's praise for Putin. At the press conference Obama also criticized Iran and Russia's role in Syria’s brutal civil war.