Obama takes bolder Syria stand as G-8 talks open

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of caution, President Barack Obama suddenly is positioned more aggressively on Syria than the global leaders he's joining at a summit Monday.

That's because he has just authorized weapons and ammunition shipments to the struggling Syrian rebels.

Obama is expected to push Britain and France to take similar action when talks open in Northern Ireland among the Group of Eight leading industrial powers.

The U.S., Britain and France also will urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to drop his political and military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Obama and Putin plan separate talks on the sidelines of the summit. It would be their first in-person meeting since Obama' re-election last November.