- It has been a fragile cease-fire, but not entirely without hope. Relief efforts have been reached and many civilians have been able to flee to safer areas, says SVT's Turkey reporter, Tomas Thorén.

It was at the end of last week that the US and Turkey agreed to a five-day ceasefire in northeastern Syria.

- Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes during the Turkish offensive, civilians have been killed, electricity and water and food are missing. Many families also told us that the Syrian border is being closed down by the Kurds there, that they do not want so many to leave and that they are therefore forced to pay human smugglers to get out, says SVT's Middle Eastern correspondent Stina Blomgren, who has visited the area on the Syrian border with Iraq, where thousands have moved.

Double message from Putin

After the US withdrew from the area, Russia has strengthened its grip. When the deadline for the ceasefire expires on Tuesday, it is unclear what will happen. Many analysts believe that the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in southern Russia will be crucial.

- Many expect that the real settlement of northern Syria's fate will then be settled. Double messages have come from Putin's direction. He said on the one hand that Turkey has the right to defend itself and on the other that Syria's borders should be controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, says Tomas Thorén.

Stina Blomgren agrees with this analysis.

- This meeting in Sochi is seen as crucial for the future of these two million people living in northern Syria, in this rural area that Turkey wants to see as its own, as a buffer zone in northern Syria.