Obama, Putin confer over Syrian war

President Obama spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss the conflict in Syria. 

The White House said Obama urged Putin to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt attacks on civilians and opposition groups that are party to a cessation of hostility agreement, which has been repeatedly violated. 

{mosads}Both leaders “confirmed their commitment to defeating” Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces and Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Nusra Front. Obama also renewed his call for a political solution to the five-year-long civil war. 

The White House’s description of the call differed from the Kremlin, which stressed that Obama and Putin agreed to “intensify coordination” of their military efforts in Syria. 

Moscow and Washington are on opposing sides of the conflict, which has further strained the already-tense relationship. 

The Obama administration’s efforts to broker a peace agreement between Assad and rebel groups have borne little fruit, and critics of the president’s Syria policy argue Obama has been too deferential to Russia — Assad’s foremost international ally. 

The call also came one day before Obama leaves for a NATO summit meeting in Poland. Tensions between Russia and the Western military alliance have risen over the conflict in Ukraine and a military buildup in the Baltic region. 

Obama pressured Putin “to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine and stressed the urgent importance of moving forward with full implementation” of a cease-fire agreement there.