Putin, Merkel, Hollande to discuss situation in Syria

The leaders of Russia, France and Germany will discuss Wednesday the situation in Syria after the talks in the so-called Normandy Four format on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On October 19, the leaders of Russia, France, Ukraine and Germany will meet in Berlin for talks on the Ukrainian reconciliation, Sputnik news agency reported. 

“After the Ukrainian part is concluded, this will probably be quite late at night, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will continue negotiations, Syria will be discussed,” Peskov told reporters.

Meanwhile, the French government said Hollande and Merkel plan to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the humanitarian pause in Syria.

"Later today I and Mrs. Merkel will ask Mr. Putin to extend the truce for humanitarian access, which was announced yesterday," Hollande's administration quoted him as saying.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force stopped airstrikes in the vicinity of Aleppo starting 07:00 GMT ahead of the eight-hour humanitarian pause.

Source: MENA