Trump, Putin look to peace talks for Syria

On the sidelines on the APEC summit in Vietnam, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have reiterated their support for Syrian peace talks in Geneva.

The US and Russia have stressed that the ongoing conflict in Syria will have no military solution, according to Russian media.

In a joint statement issued on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Da Nang in Vietnam, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reiterated their support for peace talks in Geneva, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

Several rounds of UN-sponsored talks between the Syrian government and the opposition have so far failed to bring an end to a civil war that has left many parts of the country in ruins over the past six and a half years.

Russia is a major military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the US supports some rebel groups fighting to oust him. Backed by Russia, al-Assad's forces have made major territorial gains in recent months.

Constitutional reform and free elections would have to be part of the solution to any peace deal in Syria, said the joint statement, which was drawn up in Da Nang by top diplomats from the US and Russia and approved by their superiors.

The two sides also backed previously agreed de-escalation zones in Syria as a step towards reducing the fighting between al-Assad's forces and various rebel groups.

Trump and Putin did not hold bilateral discussions at APEC despite speculation about such a meeting, and there was no confirmation of the joint statement from US official sources.


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Source: AAP


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