Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to host his Iranian and Turkish counterparts today to discuss how to resolve the conflict in Syria as Islamic State jihadists made a last stand in the east of the country and Washington prepares to withdraw troops.The international anti-IS coalition is set to meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend a conference on the Middle East in Warsaw.

At their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani ― who back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ― and Turkey's rebel-backing Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to discuss ways to advance intra-Syrian dialogue.