Obama, Cameron hold video conference

US President Barack Obama held a video conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron during which the two leaders discussed a series of issues including Syria, the situation in West Asia and Afghanistan, the White House has said.

“The two leaders expressed concern about the continuing violence in Syria,” said the White House.

Obama noted that the formation of the new Syrian Opposition Coalition marks an important step in preparing for a Syrian-led political transition, and reiterated the US’s firm stance regarding the use or proliferation of chemical weapons, it said.

“The two leaders also discussed about Afghanistan and our ongoing consultations with the Afghan Government, including negotiation of a US-Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement,” the White House said.

Obama and Cameron agreed on the need to find a way forward on West Asian peace that stops the cycle of counterproductive unilateral actions by the Israelis and Palestinians, and brings the parties back to the negotiating table.

“On Iran, the two leaders agreed on the need to continue implementing sanctions, which are having an important effect, while pursuing diplomatic engagement to resolve the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme,” the White House said.