US President Barack Obama says a spat with Israel over its resettlement program hasn't caused a major "rupture" in ties. In his last TV interview before leaving office, he defended his handling of the Syrian conflict.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. M. Monsivais
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Obama played down fallout from Washington's refusal to veto a United Nations resolution last month which demanded an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory in the West Bank and Gaza.
The US abstention caused a low point in relations with Israel which had already soured during Obama's eight years in office.
But Obama told the CBS TV show "60 minutes" that he didn't think the move significantly hurt relations between the two traditional allies.
"I don't think it caused a major rupture in relations between the United States and Israel," Obama said in an interview that aired on Sunday night. "If you're saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu got fired up, he's been fired up repeatedly during the course of my presidency."
The outgoing US leader said the settlements, which Israel denies are illegal, continued to threaten a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Syria 'red line' defended
Obama, who leaves office on Friday, also told CBS that he does not regret his speech drawing a "red line" over Syria's use of chemical weapons, a phrase critics say symbolizes the US failure to act over the country's conflict.
"I think I would have made a bigger mistake if I had said, 'Eh, chemical weapons. That doesn't really change my calculus.'"
The Syrian regime went on to use chemical weapons in rebel-controlled areas of Damascus in 2013, killing nearly 1,500 civilians.
The Obamas: 8 years in the White House
After two terms in the White House the Obamas are moving out, making room for the Trump family. Here are some of the highlights of the first family's life in their prominent home.
Image: Getty Images/P. Marovich
Married ... with children
When the Obamas moved to the White House in 2009, their daughters Malia (left) and Sasha were 10 and 7. Personable and friendly, they were the epitome of the ordinary American family.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Hands-on president
Barack Obama comes across as approachable and down-to-earth. During a family visit at the Oval Office, he readily bowed his head so the little boy of a White House employee could touch his hair: "I want to know if your hair is like mine."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Pete Souza
Super Bowl superlatives
The president and the first lady donned 3-D glasses to watch the Super Bowl at a party at the White House - in their very own movie theater.
Image: Getty Images/White House/P. Souza
Family time
The United States played Japan in the final match of the Women's World Cup soccer tournament in 2011 - a match that had the Obamas on the edge of their seats as they watched on TV. Pete Souza, the official White House photographer, captured this private family moment.
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First dog
A gift from Senator Edward Kennedy, Bo the Portuguese Water Dog joined the Obama family in 2009. Four years later, Sunny, a female of the same breed, made the family complete.
Image: Getty Images/W. McNamee
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
Caught in Spider-Man's sticky web - oh no! The most powerful man in the world, always a good sport, plays along with the child of a White House staffer in 2012, just before Halloween.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Pete Souza
Behind every strong man ...
... there's a great woman, as we all know. Who stands behind whom in the Obama family? America's first lady is more popular than her husband - her ratings are almost constantly at 70 percent, while the president's dropped to 40 percent at one point. The Obamas are regarded as a dream couple.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Mom-in-chief
Many Americans adore Michelle Obama for juggling her role as "mom-in-chief" and the more political role of first lady. Above, she and a group of students are harvesting sweet potatoes in the carefully tended White House kitchen garden - a pet project.
Image: Getty Images/C. Somodevilla
Not scared to mess around
The world follows her political engagement just as attentively as her choice of clothes. Always in the limelight, Michelle Obama manages to show style even sitting next to Elmo (left) and Rosalita. "What I have never been afraid of is to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way," she once told "Variety" magazine.
Image: Getty Images/W. McNamee
'This Is For My Girls'
The first lady demonstrated this again in a clip for the cult series "Carpool Karaoke," which has received more than 50 million views on YouTube. While James Corden's car circled the White House grounds, Michelle Obama and Missy Elliott belt out "This Is For My Girls" for the cameras.
Image: YouTube/The Late Late Show with James Corden
Inauguration selfie
With such cool parents, Sasha and Malia sometimes display a little public coolness themselves. While their father was inaugurated for the second time as president in 2013, they posed for a joint selfie.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Klamar
Passionate family man
Malia celebrated her 18th birthday while still living in the White House. The outgoing US president used the occasion to show a less statesman-like side. "Just because it's the job of a father to embarrass his daughters, I've got one last job," he explained at the end of a speech - and launched into "Happy Birthday."
Image: Getty Images/A. Guerrucci-Pool
Bye-bye, Obamas ...
Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama, now 15, are now moving out of the White House. But they are not yet turning their backs on the US capital; Sasha will still be attending school in the city. In the fall, Malia intends to begin studying at the prestigious Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Image: Getty Images/P. Marovich
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But as Washington readied air strikes against the Syrian government, Moscow-brokered a deal to send Syrian chemical weapons to Russia - a decision critics said humiliated the White House.
'More partisan than ever'
During Sunday night's interview, Obama also defended his track record during its eight-year term.
"By almost every measure the country is significantly better off than when I came in," he told CBS, who billed the interview as Obama's last as US President.
But he acknowledged that he had failed to "crack the code in terms of reducing this partisan fever" in Washington, referring to ideological differences between the Democrats and Republicans which have continue to widen during his two terms in office.
Obama said he hoped democracy would stay healthy and the country maintains a sense of solidarity under President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be inaugurated in Washington on Friday.
#ObamaFarewell: Saying goodbye to the 44th US president
