President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a tete-a-tete meeting in Russia's Sochi on Thursday ahead of a Syria summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
During the meeting, Erdogan said Turkey welcomed Russia's positive attitude towards a proposed "safe zone" in northern Syria, adding that Turkey supported the safe zone idea in Syria as long as it served to address Turkey's national security concerns.
He said Syria's territorial integrity will not be ensured unless the PYD/YPG terror group is cleared from Manbij, east of the Euphrates.
"We may soon conclude formation of Syrian constitutional committee, taking into account reservations expressed by UN," Erdogan said.
President Putin said Russia and Turkey had achieved significant progress in Syria by work together.
Putin expressed hope that through joint efforts with Turkey, dialogue between parties in Syria will accelerate, adding that goals in Syria can be reached through active, comprehensive work, and consensus.
"I am convinced that we will be able to give new impetus to the establishment of an inter-Syrian dialogue," he said.
"If we work actively and in close coordination and look for compromises on the situation in Syria, we will be able to achieve our goals."
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkish-russian-leaders-meet-ahead-of-syria-summit/1392409