President Barack Obama levied harsh criticism against Russia’s recent aggressive action in Syria in support of the Bashar Assad regime on Tuesday. But while he continued with his rhetoric that Vladimir Putin is acting from a position of weakness, he departed from a previous appraisal he made of Russia’s place in the world.

“Russia is a major military,” Obama said in remarks at the conclusion of his California summit with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, referencing the deadly airstrikes that have recently hit hospitals and a school in northern Syria. “Obviously a bunch of rebels are not going to be able to compete with the hardware of the second-most powerful military in the world.”

