Russia, Turkey, Iran to meet over Syria

Ankara [Turkey], Nov 16 (ANI): Russia, Turkey and Iran will discuss the Syrian crisis on November 22 in the Russian city of Sochi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Turkish and Iranian counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani at the Black Sea resort in Sochi.

The three countries will discuss developments in Syria and the state of the region, reported Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu, citing sources as saying.

Turkey and Russia, together with Iran, are the guarantor countries who brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016, which led to the Astana, Kazakhstan talks.

According to reports, the cooperation comes despite Turkey officially being on the opposite side of the Syria conflict from Russia and Iran.

Russia, along with Iran, is the key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Turkey, however, has backed the rebels seeking Assad's ouster.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has claimed more than 5,00,000 lives.(ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI