The statement came after the two leaders met two hours at the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. Following the meeting, Mr. Obama said, “We in fact did have a candid, thoughtful and thorough conversation on a whole range of bilateral and international issues.”

The leader said, in a joint statement,  that they had both agreed that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war pledged to work with other international actors including the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and all the interested parties in trying to find a resolution to this problem.

The discussion between the two leaders cames as Russia reportedly is preparing to send two warships with marines to its naval base in Syria while the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) announced over the weekend that it had suspended the monitoring activities of its observers due to the intensification of armed violence across the country in recent days.

The US has repeatedly expressed frustration at Russia’s blocking of UN Security Council moves against Assad.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN mission in Syria is to brief the Security Council on Tuesday about the deteriorating conflict, according to Al Jazeera. 

Syrian government forces, meanwhile, shelled districts in the central city of Homs and Damascus on Monday.

Al Jazeera citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 94 people were killed across the country on Monday, including 63 civilians, three army deserters and 28 government troops.