Moscow has been encouraged by Sheik Khatib's suggestion, which he repeated here, that he might be willing to talk to representatives of the Syrian government under certain conditions. But European and American officials expect that offer to go nowhere now that the Sheik's own colleagues in the opposition have attacked it.
The series of side meetings here at the annual Munich Security Conference seemed to confirm the fissures over what to do about Syria, including a new disagreement between the United States and some of its European allies over whether to provide the rebel fighters with more powerful weapons.
Senior European officials here said that Britain and France were both urging the Obama administration to stop blocking allies in the Gulf, like Qatar, from providing the rebels with more sophisticated arms and intelligence assistance.
The officials argue that the current Syrian stalemate means that the opposition is not winning, and Mr. Assad is not losing. An opposition with better military means could break the confidence of Mr. Assad and his allies and push him to negotiate with the opposition, the officials argue.
But President Obama, American officials here said, remained unconvinced about the positive effects of further militarizing the conflict, pointing to his recent interview with The New Republic, in which he asked, "In a situation like Syria, I have to ask, can we make a difference in that situation?" American officials fear the advanced weapons would fall into the hands of Islamists with an international agenda who have joined the fight in Syria alongside rebels focused on overthrowing Mr. Assad.
The conference, in its 49th year, is considered the premier trans-Atlantic conference for security officials and analysts.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., representing an Obama administration in transition to another term, carefully made no news in a well-received speech designed to reassure European allies of a continuing focus on European concerns despite the American "pivot to Asia."
And while Mr. Biden implicitly criticized Russia for supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, he gave the Syrian opposition little hope that Washington would change its mind about allowing more sophisticated arms to flow to the rebels.
Mr. Biden repeated America's demand that Mr. Assad relinquish power, which was immediately criticized the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, as "the single biggest reason for the continuation of the tragedy in Syria." And while Mr. Biden listed the $365 million in humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees and $50 million in nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition provided by the United States, he promised nothing that would help turn the war in their favor.
"As the Syrian people have their chance to forge their own future, they will continue to find a partner in the United States of America," Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden also spoke about Iran, repeating that the United States was willing to open direct, bilateral talks with Tehran over its nuclear program, but he insisted that Iran must show it is serious and that the talks would be substantive. "We're not prepared to do it just for the exercise," Mr. Biden said.
The Obama administration has been pushing for months to hold direct talks with Tehran, calculating that there is a window for diplomacy before Iran's elections in June. But in recent weeks, Iranian officials have thrown cold water on the idea. Indeed, Tehran has balked at setting a date or location for multilateral talks with the United States and other major powers.
In a sign of the intransigence of the conflicts over Syria's future, the United Nations negotiator for the country, Lakhdar Brahimi, expressed pessimism Friday during a panel discussion at the security conference. "I am much more conscious of the difficulties, of the country being broken down day after day, than I am of a solution," said Mr. Brahimi, who also met with Sheik Khatib.
Sheik Khatib — who directs a Syrian opposition council cobbled together with Washington's help, and pressure, to try to unify a fractured movement — found himself struggling last week to tamp down criticism of his suggestion that he would be open to talking with representatives of the Assad government. (His terms of participating were that 160,000 prisoners had to be released and that Syrians abroad could renew their passports.)
But his own colleagues strongly objected, saying that the talks must focus on the removal of Mr. Assad. While Sheik Khatib reiterated his offer here, saying that "as a gesture of good will, we are ready to sit at the negotiating table with the regime but we don't want their hands to be full of blood," he refused to provide any details, instead issuing a long indictment of the Assad government.
One senior European official said that even if Sheik Khatib were serious about talks with the regime, his colleagues would most likely force him to backtrack.
Sheik Khatib also called for the West to destroy the Syrian government's air power, which would require the direct military intervention Washington has ruled out.
Mr. Lavrov, for his part, expressed the standard Russian position: no international military involvement, no solution by military means, an immediate cease-fire and negotiations among all parties, including Mr. Assad. He said that the biggest threat in Syria was "the possibility that the rebels get hold of the chemical weapons" currently under Mr. Assad's control.
Mr. Biden did not speak to reporters after his bilateral meetings, and there were no briefings for the news media.
Russia, Syria's main arms supplier, has blocked three United Nations Security Council resolutions on the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 60,000 people in nearly two years.
Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.
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