President Obama and Russia's Putin to discuss differences on Syria

President Obama will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Mexico on Monday, and their wide differences on the violence in Syria will be top of the agenda, USA Today reports.

The meeting, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, will be the first meeting between the two presidents since Putin's election this year. Although numerous topics will be discussed, US administration officials made clear Syria is Obama's priority.

Russia has been the major impediment to a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for political transition in Syria, where President Bashar Assad's government continues to crack down on protesters.

"We'll continue to work through that area of difference with the Russians," Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser for strategic communication said.

Rhodes noted the 2009 "reset" with Russia was moving forward on other fronts. "We're able to work with the Russians and cooperate on a set of issues, even though we have differences," he said.