Putin and Obama first discuss Syria, then Ukraine — presidential aide

ANTALYA, November 15. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Barack Obama of the United States, who had an informal meeting of the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit in Turkey’s Antalya, discussed the situation in Syria and Ukraine, Russian president’s aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday.

"There was an opportunity to speak in detail and the conversation centered round two topics - first about Syria, and then about Ukraine," Ushakov told journalists, adding that the bulk of attention had been focused on Syria.

When asked whether the two leaders had managed to bring their positions on Syria closer, Ushakov said, "As for strategic goals concerning the fight against the Islamic State, they are very close in general, but there still are differences on tactics."

He said Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama had exchanged views on the "rather critical situation" after the terror attacks in Paris and other manifestations of terrorism.

The White House press service said the presidents agreed that the Vienna consultations on Syria had yielded positive results.

 Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama had a 20-minute informal conversation. The two leaders used a break between the meeting of the BRICS heads of state and the summit’s working session to have separate conversation. They took seats in front of each other and spoke tete-a-tete in the presence of their interpreters.

Putin and Obama had a full-format meeting in late September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. That was their first meeting face-to-face over two years.

Yuri Ushakov said earlier Putin and Obama had not planned a meeting during the G20 summit, though could not rule out their contacts on the sidelines.