U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia helped on concluding a deal with Iran.

In an interview with the New York Times, Obama was asked whether President Putin was a help or a hindrance in concluding this deal.

“Russia was a help on this,” he emphasized.

He argued that the parties would have not achieved the deal “had it not been for Russia’s willingness to stick with us and the other P5-Plus members in insisting on a strong deal.”