Clinton, Lavrov Agree Need to Work Together on Syria

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday agreed that they needed to work together on Syria, a U.S. official said.

"They both agreed that we've got to work together," the official said, following a telephone conversation between Clinton and Lavrov.

"Her message to him was: 'We've got to start working together to help the Syrians with Syria's political transition strategy. And I want our people to work together on ideas in Moscow, Europe, in Washington, wherever we need to'."

Tensions between the United States and Russia have risen sharply since a May 25 massacre in Syria, with Moscow holding firm in the face of U.S. charges that it has emboldened Bashar Assad's regime.

Russia and Iran are Syria's primary allies and the United States has ramped up criticism since the massacre in pro-opposition Houla, where gunmen rounded up and killed 108 people, 49 of them children.