On Monday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Russia and Iran are not being "particularly helpful to the peace process" in Syria since they are working "hand in glove" with the Syrian government.
"The Prime Minister and President Obama agreed that it was encouraging that the Syrian opposition had engaged in UN convened talks, but recognized there was a long road ahead, which would require perseverance. They also agreed on the importance of Russia playing a constructive role in achieving a political solution," the statement reads.
Russia recognizes the Syrian president as the legitimate authority in the country, stressing that Syrian people should be free to chose their leadership without outside intervention.
On Friday, the highly-anticipated talks on Syrian reconciliation mediated by the United Nations began in Geneva in line with the December UN Security Council's resolution on Syrian settlement, that ruled to bring the entire spectrum of political groups in the crisis-torn country to the negotiating table. The first indirect stage of the talks could take up to two weeks.
