The White House said Friday that U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders had a " constructive" meeting on how to avert the looming "fiscal cliff".

Obama met with the top leaders of the House and Senate for over an hour on ways to head off the cliff, a series of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January without Congress' action.

The president and the leadership had a "constructive meeting and agreed to do everything possible to find a solution" and find a balanced approach to reduce the deficit that includes both revenues and cuts in spending, White House Press Secretary said in a statement.

Both sides agreed that while there may be differences in their preferred approaches, they will continue a constructive process to find a solution and come to a conclusion as soon as possible, the statement noted.

It also said members of the President's senior team will continue meetings and discussions with members of Congress and staff over the next several days while the President travels in Asia.

Obama will leave on Saturday for Thailand for the Asia trip, the first foreign tour since his reelection victory on Nov. 6. He will also visit Myanmar and Cambodia. Endi