RANCHO MIRAGE, United States (AFP) - The United States is considering further steps to put pressure on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, President Barack Obama said on Friday.

"We don't expect to solve this any time in the short term so there are going to be some immediate steps that we have to take to help the humanitarian situation there," Mr Obama said at a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

"There will be some intermediate steps that we can take to apply more pressure to the Assad regime."