Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to do everything possible to end the war in his country, to protect civilians and to ensure humanitarian agencies can deliver emergency aid to the people.
Syria's SANA news agency reported Assad met on December 12 with new Cardinal Mario Zenari, the papal nuncio to Syria, and that the cardinal delivered a letter from the Pope.
The news of the cardinal's meeting came on the day that the Syrian military announced it gained control of 99 per cent of the former opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo, signalling an impending end to the rebels' four-year hold over parts of the city.
