Putin and Erdogan will Discuss Syria

Syria's on site situation and Turkish army's plans for an offensive against the city of Afrin in the north will be on the agenda for Turkey's and Russia's presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin at their Sochi meeting today, Russian and Turkish media reports.

Erdogan's visit to Sochi is particularly important for Ankara, which is in close contact with Russia in the context of the tense situation in the Middle East, analysts said.

Earlier, Putin's press service said energy cooperation would also be among the topics of the meeting. The creation of a zone for de-stilisation near Idlib, as well as negotiations on the purchase of Russian C-400 missiles from the Turkish side, are also scheduled for discussion.

Idlib is in fact the last province not under the control of the Syrian army (and the allies - from Russia or the Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah movement) or US-backed and Turkish-backed forces.

For the last time, Erdogan was in Russia in May, and Putin met with him in Ankara on September 28th. His current visit preceded his Gulf tour, which starts with Kuwait on Tuesday and Qatar on Wednesday.