[custom_adv] The presidents, Russia and Turkey have met to talk about how to shape the future of a country torn apart by years of civil war amid a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib. [custom_adv] At Friday's summit, Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan were expected to sign an agreement about ongoing military cooperation in Syria, the right of return for refugees displaced by the conflict, and the creation of a committee to investigate the fates of people arrested by the government or who went missing during the conflict, according to Iran's foreign ministry. [custom_adv] Putin said Russia found it “unacceptable” when civilians were used a pretext to “shield terrorists” and target Syrian government positions. [custom_adv] In its eighth year, Syria's civil war has seen more than half a million Syrians dead and 11 million - more than half the country's population - either internally displaced or living as refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Europe. [custom_adv] While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has the military advantage, he now presides over a country where large areas more closely resemble fields of rubble than cities or towns. [custom_adv] Instead, Putin warned militants in Idlib planned “provocations,” possibly including chemical weapons. The Syrian government has been repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons in the long conflict.Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire was backed by Rouhani, who insisted that there could be no compromise. [custom_adv] Other governments, like Russia, want people to go back. The refugees are watching how the war will continue." [custom_adv] On Monday, just days before the trilateral summit, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a surprise visit to Damascus where he looked ahead to reconstruction. [custom_adv] The presidents, Russia and Turkey have met to talk about how to shape the future of a country torn apart by years of civil war amid a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib. [custom_adv] But Putin insisted that the UN-designated jihadist terrorists inside Idlib had to be removed, and implied that Turkey had already tried and failed to negotiate their voluntary removal to separate them from legitimate opposition groups. [custom_adv] “It is necessary for the fight to continue until all terrorist groups in Syria, especially in Idlib, are eradicated.”