The meeting of Russia Leader and Syrian President

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the "escalation" in the Middle East on Thursday in Moscow. The first meeting of the two leaders since March last year comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan evoked the possibility of the three leaders meeting to try and normalise ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Turkiye has launched a string of offensives in Syria since 2016, targeting Kurdish militias, Islamic State group jihadists and forces loyal to Assad. Pro-Turkish forces in Syria now control two vast strips of territory along the border.