- Russia charts a course for Syria’s future
- Trump cedes Syrian postwar planning to Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi today for a trilateral summit on the war in Syria. Putin held a surprise meeting with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Monday in Sochi where he all but declared victory in the Syrian civil war. Following the meeting, the Russian president called key stakeholders in the conflict, including US President Donald Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Erdogan. The Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers had previously met in Turkey over the weekend to prepare for the summit. Putin also hopes to convene a Syrian peace conference in Russia with key stakeholders in December but the idea has faced Turkish resistance over the proposed inclusion of Syrian Kurds. Read More