Putin meets with Erdogan & Merkel, phones Macron ahead of Syria summit in Istanbul

Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate rounds of talks with his Turkish host Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the city of Istanbul on Saturday. Putin also had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. The talks come ahead of the summit on the Syrian peace settlement between leaders of Russia, Turkey, Germany and France. The politicians will be also joined by UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, and are expected to address issues of the peace process in the country, exchanging opinions regarding the situation on the ground. This is the first major Syria-themed summit since Russia and Turkey agreed to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in Idlib province last month.