Putin, Erdogan agree to boost military coordination inSyria: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan give a joint press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on December 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan give a joint press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on December 11, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayip Erdogan have agreed to strengthen Ankara-Moscow military and security coordination in Syria.

In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Putin and Erdogan discussed a number of issues including the Syria crisis and the situation in Idlib and Afrin regions.

“It is agreed to strengthen coordination of the actions of the armed forces and special services of Russia and Turkey in order to combat terrorist groups that violate the ceasefire regime,” the Kremlin said.

The two leaders also agreed for speeding up the process of establishing new observation posts near the de-escalation zones and exchanged views on the situation in eastern Ghouta, near Damascus.

They also discussed the prospects for new contacts between Russia, Turkey and Iran on Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a possible summit meeting between the presdients of the three countries was discussed, but no date has been agreed.

The last Syria summit attended by Turkish, Russian and Iranian presidents was held in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi on November 22.

The three countries joined efforts in late 2016 to launch a peace process aimed at defusing the crisis in Syria. Iran and Russia are Syria’s allies, while Turkey sides with anti-Damascus militants.

They have, since early 2017, been mediating talks between the Syrian government and opposition. The talks have led to the establishment of four deescalation zones across the Arab country.

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