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.
Negotiators failed to work though 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.
"There are still issues to resolve," one US official said. Differences between the two sides are technical, another official indicated, suggesting the divide was at a level that Obama and Putin wouldn't negotiate themselves.
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