A meeting between US president Barack Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a G20 summit in China on Monday had a ‘businesslike tone’ and went on longer than anticipated, a senior US administration official said.

 Obama and Putin discussed core issues on both the Syria and Ukraine crises, the official added.</s>President Obama’s emissaries spent much of Sunday talking with Russian officials here about how to quell the violence in Syria, but the president all but shrugged his shoulders when asked about the prospects of a successful deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Given the previous failures of cessations of hostilities to hold, we approach it with some skepticism,” Obama said, “but it is worth trying.”

Hours later, Obama engaged in delicate talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose military has recently clashed with U.S.-backed fighters in Syria, complicating the American strategy there and in Iraq.

“We discussed ways in which we can further cooperate in that regard,” Obama said politely after his meeting with the unpredictable-yet-crucial NATO ally, whose country is still reeling from a failed military coup and a wide domestic crackdown on suspected instigators.

Obama’s final presidential appearance at the Group of Twenty world leaders summit here has been a complicated waltz of diplomacy with an array of difficult partners.

Despite the strained relationships, Obama is obligated by a long list of simmering world problems to engage with leaders from Erdogan to Putin, with whom White House officials say he is planning to meet in the next day or so.

It is a signature feature of the foreign policy approach Obama promised when he ran for president — that he would talk even with the worst of the worst.

“You don’t negotiate deals with your friends,” his oft-stated mantra goes, “you negotiate them with your enemies.”

Seldom has that been truer, or more personal. The moment he set foot in China for this week’s summit, Obama got a reminder of just how many ways foreign leaders might insult him on this, his 10th and final presidential tour of Asia.

As Air Force One taxied on the tarmac, Chinese officials were refusing to let the U.S. Secret Service wheel stairs to the plane so that Obama could make his usual grand entrance from the front door. Instead, they ended up wheeling short stairs to a side door, where the traveling White House press corps could barely see him to record the moment.

An official of the Chinese delegation yelled at White House staff for allowing the press in the area at all and then physically blocked National Security Advisor Susan Rice and her deputy from moving closer to the arrival scene.

“They did things that weren’t anticipated,” Rice said later.

Much of the difficulty Obama is encountering this week was anticipated, however. The Turks, for example, repeatedly have tried to blame the U.S. in the weeks since the failed military-led coup against Erdogan.

Erdogan’s government has complained about the U.S. failure thus far to extradite Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric and onetime ally of Erdogan’s who now lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Erdogan blames him for plotting the coup and a host of other ills in his country.

In public, of course, Turkish officials have been saying all the things Americans want to hear, particularly when they are talking to U.S. officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, who visited the country recently.

On Sunday, Erdogan was politely oblique. There should be no distinction between “good terrorists or bad,” he said, an indirect reference both to Gulen and to U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria whom the Turks regard as a threat to their national security.

The U.S. and Turkey should adopt a “common attitude” against terrorism, he said.

Obama, who has now dealt with Erdogan for nearly eight years, reassured the Turkish leader that the U.S. will work to make sure the parties responsible for the coup come to justice. He condemned the overthrow before quickly noting the need to “further cooperate.”

U.S. officials say they are awaiting sufficient evidence to justify Turkey’s request for the extradition of Gulen, who is 75 and claims to be in ill health.

In the same way, Obama’s White House aides maintained a sense of reserve as Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an effort to work out a ceasefire between Syria’s government and at least some rebel groups as well as possible enhanced military cooperation between Russia and the U.S. in Syria.

State Department officials were optimistic that a deal would come together. But as Obama spoke to reporters early in the day, the president was doubtful.

Every experience he has had with Putin tells him to be skeptical about whether a deal is possible and whether Putin would stick to one, said a senior aide, speaking anonymously to comment on diplomatic talks.

Kerry said he and Lavrov have worked out a number of technical issues, but not all of them. They plan to reconvene on Monday to try to reach a final agreement.

Throughout his presidency, Obama has sought one-on-one and small-group meetings with leaders like Putin, Erdogan and China’s Xi Jinping, to try to form a sense of what motivates them and how they act.

As he closes out his final year in office, that experience has largely been disappointing.

Despite seemingly endless talks, for instance, efforts to get Russian cooperation in ending the Syrian civil war have gotten nowhere.

With Xi, Obama and his staff have concluded that the only breakthrough they will achieve is the climate deal they worked out over the last year and ratified Saturday.

Xi wants to clear the air in his smog-choked cities, and by signing onto the Paris climate accord he can get U.S. technical assistance in reaching that goal as well as a figurative global Good Citizen medal.

The White House believes that on all the other important items on the Chinese-U.S. agenda – trade, cooperation on cyber-security, human rights – Xi has determined it is not in his interest to work with Obama.

“You don’t develop real trust between the U.S. and China,” said Jeffrey Bader, a former China advisor to Obama. “What you can develop is transparency, where you can say, ‘I know what he thinks and I know where he’s going.’ That’s what the president has done.”

One volatile leader Obama will meet with on this trip presents a new challenge for the president. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected earlier this summer despite charges that, as mayor of Davao, his government had death squads that targeted suspected criminals.</s>Hangzhou, China (CNN) US President Obama says an agreement with Russia on ending the violence in Syria is being hampered by "gaps of trust" between the two governments.

Asked by CNN's Michelle Kosinski about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the President described it as "candid" and "blunt" focusing mainly on Syria and Ukraine.

Mr. Obama called the discussion on Syria "productive" about what a real cessation of hostilities would actually look like.

"We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like that would allow us both... to focus our attention on common enemies."

No Syria deal between US and Russia

No Syria deal between US and Russia 01:48

No Syria deal between US and Russia

Obama added that currently the gaps have not been closed in negotiations between Russia and the US in a way that they think would "actually work." Obama urged Kerry and Lavrov to work together in the coming days to get aid to those in need.

Obama and his Russian counterpart Putin met Monday as talks between their governments on ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement.

Meanwhile, Putin told reporters that a deal with the US to "ease tensions in Syria" may come "within a few days," according to Russia's state news agency TASS.

"Against all odds we have a certain rapprochement and understanding of what we might do to ease tensions in Syria and achieve mutually acceptable solutions," TASS quoted Putin as saying.

As for further details on the agreement, Putin said, "It is early now to speak of any parameters of our agreements, but I hope very much that the agreements will be reached, and I have the grounds to believe that this may happen within a few days," according to TASS.

The two leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here for ninety minutes, a senior US official said, and worked to clarify gaps in negotiations over on the Syrian crisis. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russia's cyber intrusions, the official said.

The exchange came after talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov failed to result in a Syria ceasefire agreement. They had been working to negotiate a plan that would have boosted military cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better target terrorists and prevent civilian deaths.

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Negotiators failed to work through differences, and the talks have ended for now. Following Obama's meeting with Putin, an official said the leaders indicated a desire for Kerry and Lavrov to reconvene deliberations in the coming days.

"It was constructive," a US official said after the meeting, noting that all differences were not resolved. The official spoke anonymously to discuss a private conversation.

"It's clear now what our respective positions are," the official said. "And we'll see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement. If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort."

Differences between the two sides are technical, the official indicated, suggesting the divide was at a level that Obama and Putin wouldn't negotiate themselves.

"President Obama and President Putin were not going to get down into the weeds of the language of an agreement and the implementation associated with the agreement," the official said.

Photos of the session distributed by the Kremlin show the two leaders and aides, including Kerry and US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, seated around a table. The presidents appeared in congenial moods, with one photo showing Putin smiling broadly.

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Both Russian and US officials said the meeting -- which was held in a conference room at the G20 summit site here -- lasted longer than planned, and that leaders spent the bulk of their meeting discussing Syria.

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Cautious optimism

On Sunday, cautious optimism prevailed that a deal could be struck between Washington and Moscow, long at odds over policy in Syria. Kerry and Lavrov had been working "around the clock" to come to an agreement, Obama told reporters.

Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists. The campaign has spurred a humanitarian crisis and caused millions of Syrians to flee for Europe.

The US hopes to align with Russia to identify terrorist targets, including ISIS and the Nusra Front, a group formerly tied to al-Qaeda. Officials hope a ceasefire will help advance talks on a political transition that would lead to the resignation of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Any deal to end widespread suffering in Syria was likely to be met with doubt after past settlements, including a ceasefire agreed to in February, failed -- a fact Obama acknowledged on Sunday.

"Given the failure of previous cessations of hostilities to hold, we approach it with some skepticism," Obama said.

But he insisted any work toward easing the deeply troubling humanitarian crisis was valuable.

"It is worth trying," he said. "To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and, you know, get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort."

Russia and the US

A deal on Syria could place US-Russia ties in a firmer position as Obama prepares to leave office. Deep divides over Syria have marred Obama's relationship with Putin, adding to a litany of discord between the US and Russia that's driven relations to their lowest level since the Cold War.

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This week's interaction between the two men could be a final attempt to salvage what's become one of the most acrimonious relationships on the global stage. Putin's persistent support for the Syrian regime, Moscow's moves in Ukraine and the charge that Russia may be meddling in the US presidential contest have built a deeply antagonistic dynamic between the two leaders.

Obama said on Sunday that Russian participation was essential.

"Our conversations with the Russians are key because, if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive," he said.</s>Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have met for 'pull-aside' meetings at the G20 summit in China but failed to agree on a solution to the Syrian civil war.

Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the bloody five-year conflict, which has left 300,000 people dead and forced millions to flee.

The two leaders discussed Syria at closed multilateral meetings but could not reach a deal to ease fighting in the war-torn region.

But in their final face-to-face meeting before Obama leaves office in January next year, they agreed to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement.

It comes as Syrian government troops - backed by Russia - resumed their siege of the city of Aleppo.

A deal to provide aid to Aleppo's ravaged civilians and at least partially stop Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday, before talks collapsed.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had been trying to broker a deal for weeks that would curb the violence between Assad's government forces and rebel forces backed by the US.

The agreement hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria.

But Obama expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement and talks were overtaken by developments on the ground.

State media said Syrian government troops had taken an area south of Aleppo, severing the last opposition-held route into its eastern neighbourhoods.

Washington has repeatedly said that Assad must step down in order for a lasting peace deal.

Turning up the heat in recent weeks, the White House has gone as far as to suggest Moscow is complicit in war crimes.

'You have the Assad regime which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians,' Obama said on Sunday.

He added: 'Our conversations with the Russians are key because if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive.

'But it is worth trying. To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort.'

The failure to reach a deal is likely to heap pressure on Obama over his handling of the war in Syria.

Obama came to office vowing not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor George Bush, who launched disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But as he prepares to leave office, critics claim Obama's failure to intervene in Syria has had similarly bloody results, allowing the conflict to fester for years.</s>HANGZHOU, China — President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. and Russia have not given up on negotiations that could stem the bloodshed in Syria but acknowledged that leaders are challenged by "gaps of trust" between the rival powers.

Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over creation of an unlikely U.S.-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on "common enemies" in Syria, Obama said. He acknowledged that a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough.

"Given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation," Obama said at a news conference closing the Group of 20 summit. "We haven't yet closed the gaps."

Obama didn't detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the U.S. has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence with Syrian President Bashar Assad to persuade him to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces. Obama said the aim was to reach "meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria."

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S. Talks are expected to resume quickly, probably later this week.

The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted.

Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before.</s>Top diplomats from the United States and Russia on Monday failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria, US officials said, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

A senior State Department official said a fresh round of crisis talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit in China had ended without agreement.

Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the five-year conflict, which has killed around 300,000 people and forced millions to flee.

A deal to provide aid to Aleppo's ravaged civilians and at least partially halt Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday, before talks collapsed.

US officials accused Russia of backtracking on already agreed issues which Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground.

Syrian government troops renewed their siege of Aleppo on Sunday, with state media saying they had taken an area south of the city, severing the last opposition-held route into its eastern neighbourhoods.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government in March 2011.

Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin also met Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, but it was far from clear that they would try to revive the talks.

The White House has been reluctant to tether Obama personally to a deal that could well fail.

Earlier truces in Syria have rapidly deteriorated, and Obama warned Sunday that the US was approaching the talks "with some scepticism".

"Our conversations with the Russians are key because if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive," he said, an acknowledgement that Putin, by sending troops and air assets to Syria, has made himself an indispensible player.

"But it is worth trying," Obama went on. "To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort."

The White House is also highly reluctant to offer Putin a high-profile stage to gain international legitimacy after his backing for a regime that has used chemical weapons on civilians.

Obama has steadfastly refused to meet Putin for official talks, instead talking with him in "pull-asides" at closed multilateral meetings.

That was again the case at the G20.

"The President is taking part in a pull-aside with President Putin of Russia," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. "We expect to provide additional details of their discussion later today."

US officials had hoped to build pressure on Moscow over its support for Assad's government during the Hangzhou summit and upcoming UN General Assembly.

Washington has repeatedly said that Assad must step down in order for a lasting peace deal.

Turning up the heat in recent weeks, the White House has gone as far as to suggest Moscow is complicit in war crimes.

"You have the Assad regime which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians," Obama said on Sunday.

Both Putin and Obama are expected to give press conferences later Monday.

The failure to reach a deal is likely to heap pressure on Obama over his handling of the war in Syria.

Obama came to office vowing not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor George W. Bush, who launched disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But as he prepares to leave office, critics say Obama's failure to intervene in Syria has had similarly bloody results, allowing the conflict to fester for years.</s>HANGZHOU, China (AP) — President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.

After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting. The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.

The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said.

The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S.

The strategy has hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria. But Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it is seeking a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions.

Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this story.</s>HANGZHOU, China -- President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations about a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.

After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting.

The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns about cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.

The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But the U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said.

The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S.

The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted.

Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another limited "cessation of hostilities" that has repeated failed in the past.

Obama's meeting with Putin comes as the Russia leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. U.S. officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.

The official said Obama raised concerns about cybersecurity issues with Putin, but would not detail the discussions.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of the agreement to stop the violence, the official said. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue.

Josh Lederman of the Associated Press contributed to this story.</s>Putin says 'some alignment' with US on Syria after Obama talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that there had been some "alignment" with US counterpart Barack Obama over Syria after talks in China, insisting the two sides could reach a deal soon.

"Despite everything, we have some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria," he told a press conference following the G20 summit in China.

"I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy," he said.

Putin insisted he believed a deal with Washington could be firmed up in the "coming days" but refused to give concrete details, saying that US and Russian officials are still "working out some of our preliminary agreements."

"We can say that our mutual work with the US in fighting terrorist organisations, including in Syria, will be significantly improved and intensified."

Obama earlier called the talks with Putin on Syria, which lasted about 90 minutes, "productive".

Moscow and Washington support different sides in Syria's festering conflict that has left 290,000 dead, with Russia backing President Bashar al-Assad while the United States supports rebel groups fighting him.

"Both US and Russia are interested in fighting terrorism," Putin said at the conference. "The US President is absolutely sincere in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict," also calling the US a "key partner" on security issues.

"I think we managed to get to an understanding of one another and to understanding of the problems that we are facing," Putin added.</s>HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion on Monday about whether, and how, they could agree on a ceasefire deal in war-torn Syria, a senior U.S. administration official said.

Obama and Putin spent about 90 minutes in a "constructive" meeting about getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the official told reporters.

In talks earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, with U.S. officials stressing they would walk away if a near-term pact could not be reached.

Obama and Putin did not get into the finer details of a deal, but made progress to clarify "the remaining gaps" and directed Kerry and Lavrov to meet as early as this week to keep working on a deal, the official told reporters.

"If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," the official said.

"If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort."

A cessation of hostilities agreement brokered by Lavrov and Kerry in February unraveled within weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of violating the pact.

State Department officials have declined to elaborate on what the sticking points are preventing a deal, though the U.S. official said the remaining differences revolved around how the plan would be implemented.

Russia has insisted that it cannot agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the United States and Middle East allies, are separated from al-Qaeda linked militants they overlap with in some areas.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine - a crisis that Obama had earlier discussed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

The White House wants to determine whether the Minsk ceasefire can be implemented beforeObama leaves office in January, or whether economic sanctions on Russia will need to be extended, the official said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin fail to agree on a peace deal regarding the Syrian civil war.