G8 leaders meeting in Northern Ireland have backed calls for Syrian peace talks to be held in Geneva "as soon as possible".
After a statement was adopted, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday they had managed "to overcome fundamental differences".
But no timetable for the Geneva talks was given.
Mr Cameron said all sides had pledged to step up their humanitarian response and maximise the diplomatic pressure for a negotiated solution.
He said the G8 leaders had pledged to learn the lessons from Iraq and there was no room for the current regime in the future.
The statement did not mention what role President Bashar al-Assad could play in future.
Russia backs President Assad, while the United States and its European allies support the rebels.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia insisted that each of the Syrian sides at the Geneva talks should be able to select their own delegations.
Russia refused to support any statement making Mr Assad's removal from power an explicit goal.
The BBC reports the communique is largely a reaffirmation of what was said at the Geneva Conference in June 2012.
G8 leaders also called on the Syrian government and the opposition to commit to destroying all organisations affiliated with al Qaeda.
