Komsomolskaya Pravda's Dmitry Smirmov shared this photo of Putin and Obama shaking hands after their meeting today on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit.
Russian Su-34 warplanes have flown for the first time in Syria carrying short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles as well as bombs, according to a spokesman for the Russian Aerospace Forces, Colonel Igor Klimov.
The aircraft had been equipped with the air-to-air missiles for "defense," Klimov said.
He added that the missiles were equipped with homing devices and were capable of hitting targets at up to 60 kilometers.
The United Arab Emirates has said it is ready to commit ground troops against extremists in Syria and has said that Russian airstrikes in the country are attacks on a "common enemy," AFP reports, citing the official WAM news agency.
Emirati State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the UAE would "participate in any international effort demanding a ground intervention to fight terrorism".
"Regional countries must bear part of the burden" of such an intervention, he said.
More from CNN on the report that French intelligence services now believe Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam is in Syria.
That information comes from a source close to the investigation and a counterterrorism source.
The source close to the investigation also told CNN that police now believe that Abdeslam bought detonators in France before the November 13 attacks. Le Parisien reported that Abdeslam had bought detonators from a fireworks shop in Saint-Ouen l'Aumone, just north of Paris.
If Abdeslam has indeed managed to flee to Syria, he will not be the first European terror suspect to do so. In January, Hayat Boumeddiene, who went on the run after her husband Amedy Coulibaly killed a policewoman, crossed into Syria on January 8. On January 9, Boumeddiene's husband Coulibaly went on to take shoppers hostage in a Paris kosher supermarket, killing four people.
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller has tweeted more details of U.S. President Obama's meeting today with Russia's President Putin on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit.
The plane carrying the body of Oleg Peshkov, the Russian pilot killed after his Su-24 jet was downed near the Syrian border has landed in Russia, RIA Novosti reports.
The plane carrying Peshkov's remains landed at Chkalovsky airport, a military airport base 31 kilometers northeast of Moscow. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met the plane and Peshkov was given military honors, according to the report.
TASS has more details about the announcement by Russia's Defense Ministry that Russian Sukhoi Su-34 jets in Syria will now fly with air-to-air missiles for self defense.
TASS says that the Su-34s can carry Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 Archer) short-range air-to-air missiles and Vympel R-27 (NATO reporting name AA-10 Alamo) medium to long-range air-to-air missiles.
The Su-34 can carry up to six R-73 missiles or up to eight R-27 missiles. The missiles are designed to engage airborne targets in all weather conditions.
The Su-34 is also equipped with a Khibiny 10-V electronic countermeasures electronic warfare (ECM EW) system, which is capable of jamming state-of-the-art radar based weapons systems.
The Su-34 is a twin-engined, twin-seat heavy strike fighter.
Turkey analyst Aaron Stein offers these comments on Russia's violations of Turkish air space, arguing that Russia sought to stop Turkish F-16s from preventing the Syrian government from bombing rebel positions along the border.
Russia's Defense Ministry says that Oleg Peshkov, the Russian pilot killed after his Su-24 jet was downed near the Syrian border last week, is to be buried in Lipetsk at the request of his family.
Russia's Defense Ministry has tweeted comments made by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Viktor Bondarev earlier today, on the arrival of the remains of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov in Moscow.
Peshkov, 45, was killed after his Su-24 jet was downed by Turkey near the Syrian border last week.
Bondarev warned that "those who panned and carried out this betrayal will incur the deservd punishment."
The Ministry also tweeted images of the return of Peshkov's remains to Russia: