MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will be meeting on Monday in New York, their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year amid strongly troubled relations between the two nations.

The announcement of the meeting was made on Thursday by the Russian president’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov and confirmed by the White House. Putin is speaking on Monday at the UN General Assembly. Peskov said the meeting with Obama, expected to last about an hour, will take place afterward and will focus on the Syria crisis.