The US President has criticised Russia's stance on gays where a new law introduces fines for disseminating information about homosexuality.

Speaking on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Mr. Obama said he had no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.

The new law in Russia has sparked controversy ahead of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and raised concerns that visiting gay athletes and spectators could face discrimination or even legal action.

President Obama downplayed such fears saying it was in the best interests of Putin and Russia to "make sure the Olympics work".

Leno compared the country’s treatment of homosexuality to the way Nazi Germany persecuted Jews. President Obama said he has "no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them".

"I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure that the Olympics work, and I think that they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics we wouldn’t tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently. They are athletes. They are there to compete".

Russia has said that the anti-gay laws will be enforced during the 2014 Winter Games, which have sparked protests and demonstrations for boycotting the event.

"If Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool or on the balance beam and people’s sexual orientation shouldn’t have anything to do with it" Obama added.

Obama defends Middle East closures

Mr. Obama also spoke about the continuing situation in the Middle East, which has seen the closure of several missions and embassies across the region due to increased security concerns.

The UK and the US State Department have instructed that their embassies should be evacuated and all non-emergency US government staff have been ordered to leave the country "due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks".

The developments in Yemen came as it was disclosed that an intercepted telephone call between al Qaeda leaders triggered the terror alert that led to the temporary closure of 19 US diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

But speaking last night, Mr. Obama said the closure of American embassies across the Middle East is not an over-reaction.