Russia says that it acquiesced to a request from President Obama to help secure the release of Americans held in Syria, culminating in the freedom on Friday of an American freelance photographer abducted after he traveled to Syria in 2012.
Contents: Turkey will keep Syria border closed as Aleppo refugees mass; Europe sends mixed messages to Turkey about new flood of Syrian refugees; Syria, Iran and Russia ridicule Saudi Arabia’s army; Turkey confiscates parrots and parakeets on Syria border; North Korea launches long-range missile, violating Security Council resolution
Iran has accused its Russian ally of being divergent on its goals of keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.
