Last week, Kerry told his French counterpart that their business executives' travel to Iran was "not helpful."

"The president of the republic is not the president of the employers union in France, and he certainly doesn't wish to be," Hollande said. "Companies make their decisions when it comes to traveling. But I certainly let them know that sanctions were in force and would remain in force."

Obama also acknowledged on Tuesday his "enormous frustration" with efforts to end the 3-year-old civil war in Syria.

"We still have a horrendous situation on the ground in Syria," Obama said.

Obama's comments came as Syrian negotiators on Tuesday held their first face-to-face meeting this month and U.S. and Russian officials prepared to join the stalemated peace talks in Geneva.

The meeting broke up after three hours,and both sides said the session failed to produce an agreement even on the agenda, according to the Associated Press.

United Nations-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters afterward that the start of meetings this week was "as laborious" as the first session two weeks ago, but the Syrian people need faster progress from the talks.

Obama reiterated he doesn't see a military solution in Syria and continues to support a negotiated end to the conflict through the ongoing Geneva talks.

"Right now we don't think there is a military solution to the problem."

The visit by Hollande marked the first state visit that Obama has hosted in nearly two years. State visits are a time-honored tradition of recognizing

The White House had invited Brazil's Dilma Rousseff to be honored late last year,