Moscow-Washington deal on Syria may happen in coming days: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, September 5, 2016. (AP photo)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow and Washington may soon reach an agreement on ways to reduce violence in Syria, following a meeting with US counterpart Barack Obama.

"Despite everything, we have some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria," Putin said at a press conference following the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Monday.

"I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy," he added.

Declining to provide further details on the talks, the Russian president said he had "grounds to believe" results may be achieved "within the next few days."

Putin noted that Syria was high on the agenda of discussions during his meetings on the sideline of the summit and that Moscow would confer with the Syrian government on the progress of the talks and also inform Iran.

The US president, on his part, said easing the humanitarian situation in Syria would pave the way for a political solution, adding that a settlement of the crisis would include all parties directly or indirectly involved in the conflict.

The comments were made a day after Obama said the US and Russia had deep differences with regard to the parties they support in Syria as well as the process to bring peace there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with US President Barack Obama in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, September 5, 2016. (AP photo)

Washington and Moscow have sought for weeks to secure a ceasefire between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and terrorist groups operating in the country.

Russia is among the supporters of the Syrian government while the US backs militants fighting to topple Assad. 

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, more than 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Takfiri terrorists have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate many key areas from terrorists.