Russia will host a new round of talks on Tuesday aimed at normalising ties between Turkey and Syria, Turkey's defence minister said.
Russia is seeking to repair ties between Ankara and its ally Damascus, which were severed at the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. "Our aim is to solve the problems through negotiations and to bring peace to the region as soon as possible." But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once called Assad a"murderer," has opened up to the idea of holding a peace-building summit with the Syrian leader.But Assad, whose country is slowly coming out of its regional isolation, has said he will only meet Erdogan if Turkey withdraws troops from northern Syria.