Putin reaffirms fight against militants in Syria's Idlib during trilateral meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told his Turkish and Iranian counterparts that the presence of what he called terrorist groups in Syria's Idlib region should not be tolerated.

Putin was speaking at a summit he is hosting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss the future of Syria with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Moscow has complained that Islamist militants who used to belong to the Nusra Front group are now in control of much of Idlib and wants military action to drive them out.