MOSCOW: Russia and the United States on Monday agreed to "redouble" efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict and extend a truce across the whole of the country.
With a temporary ceasefire in place in a war that has killed more than 270,000 people over five years, Washington and Moscow said some headway had been made in reducing the fighting.
But they admitted they had faced "difficulties" in some areas of the country and said a political solution was urgently needed.
"The Russian Federation and United States are determined to redouble efforts to reach a political settlement of the Syrian conflict", according to a joint US-Russian statement published by the Russian foreign ministry.
The two sides, co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), noted "progress" in curbing fighting, but stressed the "difficulties faced... in several areas of the country, especially in the recent period, as well as remaining problems in ensuring humanitarian access to the besieged areas.
"As a result, we have decided to reconfirm our commitment to the (ceasefire) in Syria and to intensify efforts to ensure its nationwide implementation," they said.
"We also intend to enhance efforts to promote humanitarian assistance to all people in need," they added.
To this end Russia "will work with the Syrian authorities to minimise aviation operations over areas that are predominantly inhabited by civilians or parties" to the ceasefire, the statement said.
Washington meanwhile said it was "committed to intensifying its support and assistance to regional allies to help them prevent the flow of fighters, weapons or financial support to terrorist organisations across their borders".
UN-brokered talks on the conflict held in Geneva fell apart three weeks ago when Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) suspended its formal participation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone Monday, and stressed "the need to pursue negotiations between Syrian authorities and all the opposition under UN mediation and strictly respecting the ceasefire," according to the Russian foreign ministry statement.
A temporary ceasefire between Syrian regime troops and rebel groups came into force last week in Syria's second city Aleppo, after an earlier cessation of hostilities from February 27 had collapsed.
The temporary truce, initially for two days and then prolonged until Tuesday at 00:01 am (2101 GMT Monday), was decided after fierce fighting that killed nearly 300 people since April 22 in Aleppo, where some areas are held by rebels and some by government forces.
Russian air strikes and other military assistance have helped tip the balance of the war in favour of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- whose fate has become the major stumbling block in efforts to end a half-decade of war.
In Paris, France called for the Syrian government and rebel forces to return to the negotiating table in Geneva "as soon as possible".
Speaking after a meeting with several Arab and Western backers of the Syrian opposition, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also called for "concrete guarantees on the maintenance of the ceasefire" and access for humanitarian aid on the ground.
Ayrault met with his Saudi, Qatari, Turkish and UAE counterparts in Paris. Kerry attended the talks but sources said he played a low-key role in a sign that Washington still believes the best hope for progress is to work most closely with Moscow.
A diplomatic source said it had taken a great deal of effort to persuade Kerry to attend because he did not want to upset the Russians who were strongly opposed to the meeting.
The United Nations has sought in vain for months to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which has also forced millions to flee.
Also on Monday an audio message emerged in which the son of Al-Qaeda's late founder Osama bin Laden urged jihadists in Syria to unite, claiming that the fight in the war-torn country paves the way to "liberating Palestine".
"The Islamic umma (nation) should focus on jihad in Al-Sham (Syria) ... and unite the ranks of mujahedeen there," said 23-year-old Hamza in the undated message posted online.
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