President Barack Obama has agreed to meet Vladimir Putin in New York to discuss Syria and Ukraine, bringing to an end a year-long effort by the White House to diplomatically isolate the Russian president.
The Obama administration has decided that the importance of a face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin to discuss the Syrian conflict outweighs the risk that Mr Obama will appear to be relaxing his criticism of Russian actions in Ukraine.
The two leaders will both be in New York on Monday for the UN General Assembly. The meeting follows Russia’s recent move to establish an air base in north-western Syria together with fighter jets, anti-aircraft missiles and a significant number of Russian military personnel.