G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

David Cameron and Barack Obama hope to increase the pressure on Russia at the G8 summit over its continued support of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria.

A late-night showdown saw Western nations struggling to hide their differences with Russian president Vladimir Putin over an issue that threatens to overshadow the gathering of leaders in Northern Ireland.

Downing Street welcomed a "very positive" response from Mr Putin at the summit dinner, reviving hopes for a peace conference to pave the way for a political transition in the war-torn Middle Eastern state.

Differences persist between the US and Russia over Syria

While British officials also said the other seven G8 nations could go as far as issuing their own end-of-conference statement on Syria without Russia, there were signals that Mr Putin was ready to sign up.

The Russian president and his US counterpart met for an hour of talks at Enniskillen's Lough Erne golf resort and in a grim-faced news conference afterwards said they had agreed to push all the parties in the conflict to attend a Geneva conference.

"Of course our opinions do not converge, but all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria and stop the growth in the number of victims," said Mr Putin, who has been dismissive of White House plans to begin arming selected rebel groups in Syria.

He said he and the US president agreed that the vicious civil war must end "peacefully" and through peace talks.

"We agreed to push the parties to the negotiating table."

Mr Obama simply acknowledged that they had "different perspectives" on Syria.

While nobody at the summit was in any doubt about the continuing differences between Moscow and the West, sources suggested Mr Putin was ready to sign up to five key principles discussed at last night's dinner.

Poles apart? David Cameron meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8

The five points include support for a transitional authority that will command the support of all Syria's communities - effectively ruling out a place for Mr Assad.

Mr Cameron described last night's discussions on Syria as "encouraging".

But British Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News that divisions remained between Russia and other nations.

"There was the discussion on Syria and no-one's going to pretend that everyone saw eye-to-eye," he said.

Free Syrian Army fighters fire a rocket at Assad forces in Aleppo

"Everyone knows that Russia's got a different position. The Prime Minister told me that at the end of the dinner there was a clear commitment around the table to push for a political solution to this humanitarian tragedy."

The annual gathering of world leaders comes days after Mr Obama suggested the US may send weapons to opposition forces.

Mr Putin has warned that weapons could end up in the hands of extremists opposed to European values, who "eat the organs" of their enemies. He has also said he is ready to supply Mr Assad with anti-aircraft missiles.

Mr Cameron also hopes to secure agreement today on action to block the payment of ransoms to terrorist kidnappers, as well as an international initiative to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance by sharing information between tax authorities.

But campaigners raised concerns that any agreement on tax information-sharing may be confined only to the rich world, leaving out the developing countries which miss out on billions in tax revenues because of individuals and companies secreting their wealth in offshore bolt-holes.

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