Putin, Obama to meet as Syria diplomatic drive quickens

US President Barack Obama on Thursday accepted an invitation to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week as a drive to revive efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict kicked into gear.

 

The announcement that Putin and Obama will hold talks at the United Nations in New York on Monday comes amid an apparent change of stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s potential role in any deal to end the four-year war that has killed some 250,000 people.

 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian news wires that the meeting will go ahead after the two leaders address the United Nations General Assembly.

 

“Naturally the top-priority topic will be Syria,” Peskov said, adding the meeting would last around an hour.

 

The two leaders could also touch on the conflict in Ukraine “if there is time left,” Peskov said.

 

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