ANKARA: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Ankara on Monday -- AFP ANKARA, Sept 16 (AP): The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are to meet in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria, with the aim of halting fighting in the country's northwestern province of Idlib and finding a lasting political solution to Syria's civil war, now in its ninth year.
Topping the agenda of the meeting is the volatile situation in Idlib - the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria - where a cease-fire went into effect at the end of August, following a wide four-month offensive by government forces.
The cease-fire has been holding despite some violations that left six people dead last week. A major conflict in Idlib has raised the possibility of a mass refugee flow to Turkey, which already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Sunday granting amnesty and reducing sentences for all crimes committed before Sept. 14, state news agency SANA said.
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