"This could potentially be a significant breakthrough," Obama told NBC News in an interview. "But we have to be skeptical because this is not how we've seen them operate over the last couple of years."
The president said he had explored the possibility of a proposal for Syria to cede control of its chemical weapons stockpile to international authorities with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting last week in Russia.
If Syria did so, that would "absolutely" put any U.S. military strike on pause, Obama told ABC News.
Obama gave six television interviews Monday to press his case that Congress should grant him authority to take action against Syria in response to an alleged August 21 chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 people.
With the American public strongly opposed to a military intervention, according to polls, the White House is making an all-out effort to win congressional support. It is holding briefings for lawmakers and dispatching senior officials to give speeches and television interviews.
The president plans to address the nation on television on Tuesday night and is due to speak to senators of both parties on Capitol Hill during the day.
Obama told CNN that any diplomatic effort to resolve the crisis must be serious and not just a bid to buy time.
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