The two leaders met on the sidelines of a G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
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Obama, who is in China to attend the G20 trade summit, told Reuters that “western values and ideals” were at the heart of the issue, and hinted, specifically, that China was reluctant to accommodate the president and the media entourage that traveled with him because the nominally Communist state does not enjoy the same press freedoms as the U.S. But Obama “suggested the US has concerns about Russian Federation holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms”, the wire service writes.
Russian media quoted Mr Putin as saying that he and Mr Obama understood each other’s positions on Syria better after the talks, and that he hoped their countries’ relations would improve from their current “abnormal” state.
Kerry and Lavrov also met on Sunday but the two officials could not reach an agreement on ending the years-long conflict in Syria.
The official said the US was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo, but was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation”, Obama said at a news conference closing the Group of 20 summit. Obama urged Kerry and Lavrov to work together in the coming days to get aid to those in need.
It was the first meeting between Merkel and Putin in several months.
The US side blamed Moscow for reversing its position on the issues it thought were settled. The State Department has said it wants nationwide cease-fire between Assad’s military and the rebels, rather than another limited “cessation of hostilities” that has repeated failed in the past.
Chinese officials insist steel overcapacity is a global issue, but USA and European officials say Beijing’s vast state-owned industry, which accounts for half of global output, is the root of the problem.
The attack follows advances by Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels at the weekend that repelled IS militants from the last stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border the group controlled.
Backed by Russian warplanes, Assad’s forces have waged an air and ground campaign that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and forced millions of Syrians to seek refuge in Europe. Amid the chaos, IS has emerged as a global terror threat.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.
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At around the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping was telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful US anti-missile system in South Korea.
