Putin, Erdogan discuss Syrian crisis, military coordination during operations against IS

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have held a telephone conversation discussing the Syrian crisis and the fight against the Islamic state terror group (IS, outlawed in Russia), the Kremlin press service said in a statement. According to the press service, bilateral economic ties were also discussed. Settling the crisis According to the Kremlin press service, Putin and Erdogan expressed their readiness to further contribute to settling the Syrian crisis. "(The two presidents) discussed the implementation of the decisions made at the Astana meeting on Syria, brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran," the statement reads. "The two leaders confirmed their readiness to further contribute to the Astana and Geneva processes aimed at settling the Syrian crisis." Military coordination Putin and Erdogan agreed to boost military coordination during operations against the Islamic state terror group in Syria, "The presidents exchanged views on the key aspects of the Syrian crisis focusing on cooperation in the fight against international terrorism," the statement adds. "They agreed to boost military cooperation during operations against members of the Islamic State and other extremist organizations active in Syria." Putin also conveyed his condolences over a tragic accident causing the death of several Turkish military servicemen near the Syrian city of al-Bab. According to media reports, five of Turkish military servicemen were killed and ten were wounded during clashes with the Islamic State’s militants in the al-Bab city area in the Aleppo province. Economic ties The presidents also discussed preparations for the Russian-Turkish summit scheduled to be held in Russia in March. "They also touched upon pressing issues related to bilateral trade and economic cooperation focusing on the upcoming meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council due to be held in Russia in March," the Kremlin press service added. Read more