Bashar al-Assad

Just to recall, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Syria announced on Wednesday that the country has decided to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Syria has recognized the DPR and LPR

Syria has decided to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, SANA news agency and Syrian state television reported, citing an official source from the foreign ministry.

A bomb attack on an army bus in Damascus killed at least 13 people on Oct. 20 in the bloodiest such attack in years, the SANA state news agency reported.

"A terrorist bombing using two explosive devices targeted a passing bus" at a key bridge in the capital, the news agency said, reporting an initial casualty toll of 13 dead and three wounded.

Turkish intelligence helped Iraq capture a senior ISIL leader who had been hiding out in northwestern Syria, three security sources said on Oct. 12, in an operation that points to closer cooperation against remnants of the jihadist group.

Russia is "determined" to continue close cooperation and coordinated work with Turkey on diplomatic and military lines to fully normalize the situation in Syria, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 7.

The Syrian settlement traditionally occupies one of the central places in dialogue between Moscow and Ankara, Maria Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin where they discussed the political situation in Syria, international terrorism as well as issues of bilateral and humanitarian cooperation. The details about the meeting held on September 13 were published on the Russian leader's website on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating as a precaution after several members of his entourage fell ill with COVID-19, but is "absolutely" healthy and does not have the disease himself, the Kremlin said on Sept. 14.

President Bashar al-Assad took the oath of office for a fourth term in war-ravaged Syria on July 17, after officially winning 95 percent of the vote in an election dismissed abroad.

It was the second presidential poll since the start of a decade-long civil war that has killed almost half a million people and battered the country's infrastructure.

Turkey's vice president urged the EU on July 6 to open legal migration routes for Syrians as part of the fair burden and responsibility sharing principle.

Fuat Oktay also appealed for member states to activate the voluntary humanitarian admission mechanism with concrete commitments and to increase the settlement quotas for refugees.

The European Union must expect a further deterioration in relations with Russia even though ties have already sunk to their "lowest level", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.