Putin to attend Syria peace talks in Iran

Preparations are under way for Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend Syria peace talks with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts in Tehran next week, the Kremlin says.

Russia and Iran, major military backers of Syria's leadership, have been working with Syrian opposition supporter Turkey to maintain safe zones for civilians in the war-torn country.

Putin is expected have a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the summit on September 7, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by state media.

Putin, Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last convened for a trilateral summit on Syria in the southern Russian city of Sochi in November last year.

They discussed "further steps to ensure the long-term normalisation of the situation in Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement at the time.

The leaders have maintained regular contact. Putin met with Rouhani this month during a Caspian Sea summit in Kazakhstan and with Erdogan during an emerging economies summit in South Africa last month.