WASHINGTON – Face to face with time running short, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner negotiated at the White House on Thursday night in what aides called “frank” talks aimed at breaking a stubborn deadlock and steering the nation away from an economy-threatening “fiscal cliff.”

Boehner returned to the Capitol an hour later, briskly walking past reporters without comment. There was no indication whether any progress had been made, though the use of the word “frank” by both sides to describe the talks suggested the president and the speaker stuck hard to their opposing positions.

The meeting came shortly after Obama suggested that the sluggish pace of deficit-cutting talks between the administration and congressional Republicans was a result of a “contentious caucus” of GOP lawmakers who were making it difficult for Boehner to negotiate.