Putin to travel to Tehran for Raisi-Erdogan summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Tehran on July 19 for a Syria summit with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin announced Tuesday.

"The president's visit to Tehran is being planned for July 19," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He said the trio would meet for peace talks on Syria.

Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years been holding talks on Syria as part of the so-called "Astana peace process" to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country.

It will be the Kremlin chief's second visit abroad since he sent troops into Ukraine in late February, after having visited Tajikistan in late June.

The Kremlin said Putin will also hold separate talks with Erdogan in Tehran, without providing more details.

The Turkish leader has been offering to meet Putin for months, as Ankara tries to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.