MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he plans to discuss next steps on Syria at the upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin scheduled to be held in Sochi on October 22, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
"I view the upcoming meeting with Putin as the next stage in implementing steps on Syria," the news agency quotes the Turkish leader as saying.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said that Putin and Erdogan would meet in Sochi on October 22 to discuss the situation in northeastern Syria.
On October 9, Ankara announced the launch of a new military campaign in Syria dubbed Operation Peace Spring, which began with airstrikes on the positions of Kurdish units. Its objective was to create a buffer zone in northern Syria where Syrian refugees could return from Turkey, according to the Erdogan regime. Syria’s SANA news agency branded the operation as an act of aggression, while the global community condemned Ankara’s actions.
On October 17, the United States and Turkey reached an agreement on suspending hostilities in northern Syria following the talks in Ankara. Turkey agreed to suspend its military campaign for 120 hours so that Kurdish units, which form part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, could leave the border safe zone that is being created by Ankara.
