Trump, Putin 'agree to defeat IS in Syria'

United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed to fight the Islamic State (IS) in Syria until its defeat.

Both the leaders informally met on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam and agreed to an extensive statement on the conflict in Syria.

According to the joint statement, both the presidents have "confirmed their determination to defeat ISIS in Syria."

Both the sides also "agreed to maintain open military channels of communication between military professionals to help ensure the safety of both US and Russian forces and de-confliction of partnered forces engaged in the fight against ISIS. They confirmed these efforts will be continued until the final defeat of ISIS is achieved," the statement added.

According to reports, in total, they casually spoke to each other at least thrice within 24 hours at the summit.

The Presidents also agreed that "there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria," adding that the two concurred to find an "ultimate political solution" to the conflict.

The statement also reads that Trump felt he had a "good meeting with President Putin."

A formal bilateral meeting between the two presidents had been widely expected at the APEC Summit but Putin later said scheduling issues had got in the way, the report said.