Trump, Putin welcome Assad's commitment

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump say they welcome President Bashar Assad's "recent statement of commitment" to the Geneva process for resolving the conflict in Syria.

Putin and Trump met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Vietnam.

Assad's commitment to the process, in line with a UN Security Council resolution, implies "constitutional reform and free and fair elections under the supervision of the United Nations" in which all Syrians can participate, including those in the diaspora, a Kremlin statement said.

Trump and Putin also reaffirmed support for de-escalation zones in Syria, including one in the southwest that was agreed to in the presidents' previous meeting in July in Germany. They also called on UN members to increase humanitarian aid contributions for Syria.