Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to take practical steps for the resumption of dialog between the Syrian government and the opposition, expressing differences on the role of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's future.

“We agreed to continue practical steps, we agreed on them, which are aimed at preparing the optimal conditions for a renewal of dialogue between the [Syrian] government and all the Syrian opposition,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday during a press conference after negotiations with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The renewed efforts to revive negotiations to end the Syrian crisis come after Western-backed Geneva I and Geneva II peace conferences on Syria were held in June 2012 and February 2014 respectively. The two conferences met with failure after foreign-sponsored opposition figures in the talks refused to discuss militancy and widespread terrorism in the country.

Lavrov also said Riyadh and Moscow principally agree on ways to root out terrorism in Syria, stressing, however, that the two countries are at loggerheads over the future of Assad.

“Our principled approaches to the resolution of the [Syria] crisis coincide but we also have some differences,” Lavrov said, stressing, “One of them is the fate of President al-Assad.”

For his part, the Saudi foreign minister also said that Russia and Saudi Arabia share views on “essential” issues of the region, including Syria, but noted that Riyadh opposes Assad's involvement in the future of Syria.

“There are similarities in our viewpoints on essential matters and problems yet some views differ, and we are hopeful to reconcile our approaches at consequent meetings and negotiations,” Jubeir said.

“Our position has not changed... there is no place for Assad in the future of Syria,” Jubeir said, stressing, “We think that Bashar al-Assad is part of the problem, not part of the solution.”

This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on June 29, pledged to push ahead with his support for the Syrian government and nation amid ongoing battle between Damascus and the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

Putin also stressed in a telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama on June 26 that Assad should be involved in any solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Elsewhere in his remarks during the Tuesday press conference, the Russian foreign minister pointed to the ineffectiveness of the airstrikes by the so-called US-led coalition, which are purportedly hitting the Daesh militants in Iraq and Syria.

“Not only we, but many foreign military experts are absolutely convinced that without such a unification of all those who confront terrorists on the ground, the airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition will not yield the expected results and ISIL will not be defeated,” Lavrov said.

Since September 2014, the US along with some of its regional allies has been conducting airstrikes against what is said to be Daesh positions inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The airstrikes in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against the purported Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August 2014.

Many of the countries joining the so-called anti-terror coalition, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been staunch supporters of the Takfiri elements operating against the Syrian government.

Syria has been fighting against massive foreign-sponsored militancy since early 2011. The conflict has reportedly killed an estimated 240,000 people so far, including nearly 12,000 children.