Syrian armed forces
FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2016, file photo, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, poses for photographers with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, prior to their meeting at Yildiz Mabeyn Palace in Istanbul. Biden and Turkish counterpart Erdogan have known each other for years, but their meeting Monday, June 14, 2021, will be their first as heads of state. And it comes at a particularly tense moment for relations between their two countries. (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool via AP, File)
Erdogan and Biden meet at a tense moment for Turkish-US ties

By Suzan Fraser Jun. 13, 2021 10:56 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 file photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures while speaking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their talks in Damascus, Syria. U.N.-backed investigators in the 21st report from the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, pointed Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, to signs that Syria’s government continues to perpetrate rape, torture and murder as the country’s nine-year conflict grinds on, while citing possible war crimes by a Turkey-backed coalition of rebel groups and calling on Ankara to do more to help prevent them. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
UN experts decry continued abuse as Syria's war grinds on

By Jamey Keaten Sep. 15, 2020 08:17 AM EDT