Putin, Erdogan hold talks on Syria’s Idlib
Leaders of the two countries are on opposite sides of the deadly seven-year conflict but remain key global allies
Sochi, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Monday to try to come to an agreement over the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib.
The leaders of the two coun- tries are on opposite sides of the deadly seven-year conflict but remain key global allies.
“We have a lot of issues to discuss, including difficult ones,” Putin said at the start of the talks at his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
He added that the meeting would help ‘find solutions for where there are none yet’.
“I think not just the region, but the entire world has eyes focused on our meeting today,” Er- dogan said for his part, in comments that were translated into Russian.
“I believe that the statement we will make after the Sochi meeting will give new hope to the region,” he added.
Russia-backed forces of the Syrian regime have massed around Idlib province in recent weeks, sparking fears of an imminent air and ground attack to retake the last major opposition bastion.
The United Nations and nongovernmental organisations have repeatedly warned that such an offensive would unleash a ‘bloodbath’ and ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Idlib, which is home to three million people.
Turkey has intensified negotiations with Russia to avert a possible attack, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire.
Erdogan and Putin met previously on September 7 in Tehran for a three-way summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that saw the Russian and Turkish leaders openly disagree over how to deal with the rebel stronghold, which borders Turkey.
“The situation with Idlib is acute,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti state news agency ahead of the talks on Monday.
“There are certain differences in approaches [between the leaders],” he added.
The two men met as Turkey’s military has sent significant reinforcements to Idlib in recent weeks, according to media reports. They were sent over the border on Sunday and included tanks and other hardware, with a convoy of 50 military vehicles, according to the Hurriyet daily.
Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
Turkey however backs opposition fighters seeking the ouster of the Syrian leader.