Putin, Erdogan to step up counter-terror efforts in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Friday to intensify joint efforts to eliminate terrorist threats in Idlib, the last major rebel enclave of Syria.

In a phone conversation initiated by Ankara, Putin and Erdogan discussed Russian-Turkish cooperation in stabilizing the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone, according to a Kremlin press release.

They also discussed other aspects of the Syrian settlement, including the ongoing efforts by Russia, Turkey, Iran and the UN in the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee -- a body designated to amend Syria's current Constitution or draft a new one for post-war Syria, Xinhua news agency reported.

Putin, Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will meet to discuss Syrian settlement affairs in Ankara on September 16, local media quoted the Turkish President's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin as saying. IANS