Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recip Tayip Erdogan ahead of a meeting between the two leaders, scheduled to be held in Ankara on Thursday, 28 September.
According to the Kremlin website "the Syrian issue was discussed in detail, including in light of the positive results achieved during the Sixth International Meeting on Syria in Astana on September 14-15. It was emphasized that the creation of four zones of de-escalation in the Syrian Arab Republic opens the way to the cessation of the civil war and the political settlement of the crisis on the basis of the principles of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The importance of further close coordination of the efforts of Russia and Turkey on the Syrian direction was noted."
The website added that "a number of topical issues of further development of bilateral cooperation were also touched upon."
The two leaders agreed to continue a thorough exchange of views on the regional and bilateral agenda during the working meeting in Ankara later this week.
source: commonspace.eu with Kremlin.ru
photo: President Putin and President Erdogan (archive picture).