U.S.-Russia Talks on Syria Cease-Fire Stall at G-20

The Obama administration’s latest effort to broker a cease-fire in Syria fell short on Monday, after a 90-minute meeting between President Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting failed to resolve snags between the United States and Russia.

“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation, and we’ve haven’t yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work,” Mr. Obama declared at a news conference.

Mr. Obama said he had instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to continue negotiating with the Russians over the coming days to see if a deal was possible. The goal, he said, is to forge a durable cease-fire that would end the rain of bombs on Aleppo and other Syrian cities.

“The faster we can offer some relief to folks on ground,” he said, “the better off we’re going to be.”

Mr. Obama’s comments came at the end of his last G-20 summit meeting, a gathering that served to dramatize both his lame-duck status and the changed world that his successor will face.

Mr. Obama remains a central figure, but there was a palpable sense at this gathering that the world is waiting for a new president to reset American policies on Syria, Ukraine and North Korea.

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