Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) said on Tuesday a peace conference on the Syrian crisis should be held "as soon as possible."
In a final communique, G8 leaders said they were determined "to work together to stop the bloodshed and loss of life in Syria and to support the Syrian people to establish peace and stability through political means."
Isolated at the G8, Russian President Vladimir Putin had clashed with other leaders over the conflict and resisted their attempts to get him to agree to anything that would imply Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down or that Russia should tone down its support for Assad.
"We remain committed to achieving a political solution to the crisis based on a vision for a united inclusive and democratic Syria," according to a copy of the final communique seen by Reuters.
It made no mention of Assad, whom Western leaders have said in the past must step down.
The endorsement at the G8 summit of political negotiations on Syria's two-year civil war met the goals pursued by Obama, including ones he discussed with Putin, a senior US administration official said on Tuesday.
"The communique achieves the objectives on Syria that the President was pursuing in his talks with other leaders, including President Putin, notably on a political process to resolve the conflict, investigation of chemical weapons use, and humanitarian support for the Syrian people," the senior administration official said.
Russia has been Assad's most powerful supporter as his forces struggle to crush an uprising in which 93,000 people have been killed since March 2011. The US, Turkey, and European and Gulf Arab states support the rebels, who have lost ground to Assad's troops in recent weeks.
The US has announced it will begin arming Assad's opponents because it has proof chemical weapons were used against the rebels. But the Russian deputy foreign minister dismissed the claims of chemical weapon use, saying they are based on unproven evidence and that they require further investigation.
Agencies