Obama, Putin agree on Syria transition

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on the need for a Syria-led political transition, including UN-mediated talks, when they spoke at the G20 summit on Sunday, a White House official said.

The Cold War superpower foes have been at odds over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Moscow supports and Washington wants gone, as well as the conflict in Ukraine.

In a 35 minute discussion on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Turkey, Obama and Putin discussed efforts to find a solution to the conflict, which had been made more pressing by the attacks in Paris that killed 129 people, the US official said.

"President Obama and President Putin agreed on the need for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition, which would be proceeded by UN-mediated negotiations between the Syrian opposition and regime as well a ceasefire," the official said.

Obama welcomed efforts by all countries in confronting Islamic State, noting the importance of Russia's military efforts in Syria focusing on the group, the official said.

Following the talks, Russian media quoted a top Kremlin adviser as saying the two countries have similar approach towards fighting terrorism but differ on tactics.