LOS CABOS, Mexico — Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with President Barack Obama on the need to end the ongoing violence in Syria, according to a joint statement issued by the two leaders following a bilateral meeting in Mexico Monday.
“We agreed that we need to see a cessation of violence,” Obama told reporters, according to FOX News Channel.
Obama and Putin met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit of advanced and developing economies in Los Cabos, Mexico.
The White House has been pressing Moscow to help diplomatic efforts to remove Syrian President Bashar al Assad from office. Russia, however, has hindered the efforts by continuing to supply arms to Syria’s security forces.
On Monday, however, the two leaders appeared to make progress.
“In order to stop the bloodshed in Syria, we call for an immediate cessation of all violence and express full support for the efforts of UN/League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, including moving forward on political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system that would be implemented by the Syrians themselves in the framework of Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity,” Obama and Putin said in a joint statement.
“We are united in the belief that the Syrian people should have the opportunity to independently and democratically choose their own future,” it added.