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Putin, Erdogan agree new measures needed to ease Syria tensions: Kremlin

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during their joint news conference following Russian-Turkish talks in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia October 22, 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed during a phone call on Friday on the need for new measures to be put in place to ease tensions and normalize the situation in northwest Syria, the Kremlin said.

In a readout of the phone call, the Kremlin said Putin and Erdogan agreed to organize a top-level meeting to address the situation in Syria’s Idlib province that the presidents said was a matter of “serious concern”.

The call followed the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in a strike by Syrian government forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region on Thursday.

Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Jon Boyle

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