"A couple of things could stop us. No 1 is if our political system continues to be dysfunctional," he said.
"It's fascinating the degree to which the single most important question I'm asked these days from other world leaders is, what's going on with your elections? The current presidential election just is the tip of a broader iceberg of dysfunction that we've seen," Obama was quoted as saying by the CBS News.
"There's a lot of just blocking and tackling. What is important is making sure that you've got an organisation that has integrity, that is clear about its mission, that is doing things the right way and not taking shortcuts, that you're not thinking in terms of short-term politics or PR, but you're in for the long haul and when you do that, then ultimately you're going to get the good outcome," he said.
Responding to a question on his "Obama doctrine", the President said he has always shied away from labeling his foreign policy.
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Obama said he has shown no hesitance to use of US military where necessary to protect American lives, American interests.
On Syria, he said there's no doubt that there are many in the Middle East who would have preferred him taking a shot at Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian ruler.
A day earlier he called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, during which he indicates that they starting to see it fray more rapidly.
"And if the United States and Russia are not in sync about maintaining it and getting a political track and transition moving, then we could be back in a situation we were three, four weeks ago. And that would serve neither of our interests," he said.