Turkey says Erdogan will meet Putin on Monday for Syria talks
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Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, officials said, amid rising international concern over a looming Syrian government assault on a rebel-held province bordering Turkey.
"President Erdogan will meet with Mr Putin on Monday," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a televised press conference.
The meeting will take place in the Russian resort city of Sochi, a senior Turkish official told AFP.
Russia-backed forces of the Syrian regime have massed around the Idlib province in recent weeks, sparking fears of an imminent air and ground attack to retake the last major opposition bastion.
UN agencies and relief organisations have warned repeatedly that such an assault could spark one of the worst humanitarian disasters of Syria's seven-year war.
Turkey has intensified negotiations with Russia to avert a possible attack, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire.
However last week Erdogan and Putin failed to agree on a ceasefire at a three-way summit in Tehran which also involved Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
APP/AFP
