Putin, Erdoğan Discuses Normalization of Turkish-Syrian Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a phone call on Monday and discussed the normalization of relations between Ankara and Damascus.

The two leaders addressed the normalization of Turkish-Syrian relations, including in the position of Ankara's initiative to launch consultations involving Russian, Turkish, and Syrian representatives.

In a statement, the Kremlin press service highlighted that Putin and Erdoğan stressed the practical importance of the teamwork of Russia, Turkey, and Iran within the framework of the Astana process to facilitate the Syrian settlement.

Russia, Turkey, and Iran act as guarantors of the peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict. They also launched a format for a political settlement in Syria, which was called ‘the Astana process’.

In the same vein, the two presidents touched upon the details of a project for processing Russian grain in Turkey into flour and its supply to African countries.

"[The two leaders] discussed the functioning of the grain corridor, export of ammonia, as well as specific steps as part of the project for processing grain from Russia into flour in Turkey and its supply to African countries in need," the statement read.