In an op-ed published by The New York Times today, Russian President Vladimir Putin says a U.S. strike on Syria “will result in more innocent victims and escalation … and unleash a new wave of terrorism.” Putin also claims he believes Syrian rebels launched the chemical attack in Ghouta in order to provoke foreign intervention, and urges the Obama administration to abandon unilateral threats of military action against the Assad regime, writing: “We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.”