President Vladimir Putin held talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Moscow amid calls for Russian mediation to cool tensions between Turkey and Syria.

Wednesday's talks between the pair -- the first since since March 2023 -- come after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flagged the potential of a three-way meeting to discuss normalising ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Putin highlighted his concerns over the situation in the Middle East, which he said was "tending to escalate," in opening remarks between the pair which were aired on state television Thursday.

Moscow is Syria's most important ally, having effectively saved Assad's government through its military intervention in 2015 during a civil war.

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