n 136 iranilaista kuoli onnettomuudessa. Iranilainen syyttäjäviranomainen vaati lauantaina Saudi-Arabiaa tuomiolle kansainväliseen oikeusistuimeen. Saudi-Arabian korkein uskonnollinen johtaja kommentoi onnettomuutta lausumalla, että on asioita joihin ihminen ei voi vaikuttaa.By Vladimir Putin’s standards this was a relatively restrained speech. Unlike in Munich in 2007, when he famously launched an all-out attack on US global hegemony, Putin didn’t even mention America by name. His key message, as expected, was on Syria. Putin said that Russia was convening an anti-Isis coalition and that the best way of defeating Islamist terrorism was to bolster state structures - in other words to rescue the enfeebled government of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. All eyes will now turn to Putin’s meeting this evening - due at around 10pm GMT - with Obama. In his speech Obama made it clear that a “managed transition” in Syria can only take place if Assad leaves power. Putin today said the opposite: that Assad is the solution rather than the problem. There were no surprises on Ukraine. Putin stuck to the narrative that he’s repeated since the dramatic events in Kiev in spring of 2014. According to Russia’s president a ‘military coup’ from outside - in other words engineered by America and the CIA - provoked a “civil war” in the country. No mention, of course, of Russia undercover military take-over of Crimea. Or the shipment of weapons by Moscow to pro-Russian rebels fighting in the east of the country. Russian state TV is already discussing Putin’s speech in ecstatic terms. The question for Obama is this: does he accept Putin’s offer of cooperation over Syria? If the answer is no, what’s the White House’s alternative policy? nustar ,sunsingle centre of domination emerged in the world”– in other words the United States. It decided it didn’t have to reckon with the UN, Putin says.Putin is now complaining about sanctions against Russia and “growing economic selfishness”. (These were imposed by the EU and US last year in response to Russia’s military moves in Ukraine.) He says that Russia believes in the potential of the UN to avoid global confrontation. “I’m confident that by working together we will make the world stable and safe.” And that’s it. Putin leaves the stage. Short applause. Russia is ready to work with its partners on the basis of consensus, but says attempts to undermine the UN are “extremely dangerous”. We would get a world dominated by selfishness rather than collective work, Putin saysRussia will shortly convene a ministerial meeting to carry out an analysis of threats in the Middle East. Putin says there should be coordination between anti-Isis forces based on UN principles. If this is achieved there would be no need for refugee camps. Putin says there is now a “great and tragic migration of peoples”. This is a harsh lesson for all of us, including Europe. The solution, Putin says, is to restore statehood - in other words (though he’s not explicit about this) to bolster the Assad regime. There is no alternative, he says. Putin has now moved onto his grudge list. He complains about the expansion of Nato, and the logic of confrontation which has led to the current crisis in Ukraine. He says there was a “military coup” coordinated from outside in Ukraine which triggered a civil war.