The West does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the Syrian civil war and Russia’s military intervention is to target terrorists and not prop up Syrian leader Bashar Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin told CNBC.

“Let me be clear, we are not going to get into leadership (debates about Syria). There is only one leader in Syria which is the Syria people,” Putin said, answering a question from CNBC at the “Russia Calling” investment forum hosted by Russian investment bank, VTB Capital, in Moscow.

“What we’re trying to achieve is to contribute to the fight against terrorism which is a threat both to the U.S., to Russia, to European countries and the whole world,” he said.

“They (the western alliance) don’t have a clear understanding of what’s happening on the ground.”

At the weekend, as Russia stepped up its bombing campaign, U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia was acting solely to prop up Assad’s regime.

Asked by CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore how he would respond to Obama’s remarks, Putin answered.

“All our actions fully comply with the United Nations charter and international law, contrary to the actions of our colleagues from the so-called U.S.-led international coalition which is acting without any UN Security Council resolution and invitation of the Syrian authorities,”.