Obama, Putin meet on sidelines of G20 summit

Amid wrangling over conflicts in eastern Ukraine and Syria, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had an over 30-minute meeting here on Sunday on the sidelines of G20 summit.

"Meeting of President Putin and President Obama in the first break of #G20Antalya summit. 30 minutes by now," tweeted Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 Sherpa, Xinhua reported.

The tweet included a picture of Obama and Putin sitting across a coffee table, but did not disclose the content of their conversation.

Prior to the meeting, Obama and Putin shook hands and chatted briefly when they were joining other G20 leaders for a "family photo," which was followed by a working lunch and a G20 working session.

Obama and Putin last met in New York in September during the annual general debate of the UN General Assembly.

Washington, Moscow and other major global and regional powers agreed on Saturday on a timetable for establishing a transition government in Syria and holding an election within 18 months, but failed to bridge the gaps over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The US will work with France to intensify air strikes on the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, after terror attacks killed at least 129 people in Paris on Friday night, said Benjamin Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security advisor.