Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Chinese officials as he arrives before the start of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, on September 3, 2016. Pool Photo by Xing Guangli/UPI | License Photo

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, on September 4, 2016. World leaders have come to China for the start of the G20 Summit, where heads of states will discuss global economics, trade, climate and terrorism issues. Pool Photo by Ma Zhancheng /UPI | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S.President Barack Obama met for 90 minutes Monday at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, largely discussing negotiations aimed at a ceasefire ion Syria.. Photo courtesy of the Kremlin

U.S President Barack Obama holds a press conference to foreign media at the close of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, on Monday. After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, Obama indicated there was no deal on solving the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Photo by Stephen Shaver /UPI | License Photo

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Speaking in China amid the G20 summit in China, President Barack Obama said a lack of trust between the United States and Russia as a hindrance to an agreement between the two countries to establish peace in Syria.

Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about 90 minutes Monday, largely discussing the possibility of a truce in Syria.


"Given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation, and we haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," Obama said during a news conference after the meeting.

Obama described the talk with Putin as "candid, blunt and businesslike."

He said talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a Syrian truce and provision of humanitarian aid could take "several more days." Negotiations between Kerry and Lavrov, aimed at a plan to increase military cooperation between the United States and Russia so that terrorists in Syria are better targeted and civilian casualties are reduced, have not yet succeeded.

A senior U.S. official said of the meeting between Obama and Putin, "It was constructive. It's clear now what our respective positions are, and we'll see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement. If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort."