Putin, Erdoğan agree to hold Syria peace talks in Astana

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 16 that he had agreed with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan to hold peace talks on Syria in the Kazakhstan capital Astana.

Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Japan, Putin also said Russia would now be pursuing talks on a "nationwide" ceasefire in Syria.

Those talks would be in addition to U.N.-brokered talks that have been taking place intermittently in Geneva, Putin told reporters.