Russia defence chief meets Assad in Damascus

Syria's president hosted Russia's defence minister on Monday to discuss a recent cease-fire in rebel-held northwestern Syria, which ended rare direct fighting between Syrian and Turkish troops.

President Bashar Assad met with Sergey Shoygu in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Syria's state news agency SANA said the talks focused on implementing the Russia-Turkey agreement signed earlier this month.

In addition to stopping the fighting, the agreement called for pushing militants out of a buffer zone on either side of a vital highway that runs through rebel territory.

Under the deal, militants were to stay back 6 kilometres (4 miles) from the east-west M4 highway, intended to allow the road to open for the first time in nearly eight years.

The cease-fire deal was brokered between Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict.

The deal halted a three-month Syrian government offensive into the country's last rebel stronghold.