Leaders of Turkey, Russia, Iran to discuss Syria crisis

The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran are to hold talks on the Syrian crisis today.

Presidents Erdogan, Putin and Rouhani will discuss ways to wind down the fighting - despite their involvement in rival military campaigns on ground.

Iran and Russia support the Syrian government, while Turkey backs the moderate opposition in the seven-year civil war.

The meeting, in the Turkish capital, Ankara comes at a time of significant developments on the ground.

Syrian government forces are reportedly close to taking control of the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, while Turkish and Free Syrian Army forces have reportedly taken control of the northwestern Syrian Kurdish region of Afrin.

Today's trilateral meeting will be the third in a series aimed at finding a solution to the Syrian conflict.

The earlier talks took place in the Russian city of Sochi and the Kazakh capital, Astana.