Putin and Erdogan exchange views on situation in Middle East

Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East in a telephone conversation on Sunday, the Kremlin press service said.

"The two heads of state exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, first of all in Syria and Iraq, in the context of closer multilateral and bilateral coordination aiming to boost the efficiency of efforts to rebuff threats coming from the Islamic State. The two leaders stressed that consolidated efforts of all states concerned on the basis of international law were needed to address the threat of terrorism and extremism," the press service said, adding that the conversation had been initiated by the Turkish side.

Putin and Erdogan also discussed topical issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation and prospects for further contacts at various levels, including the top level, the press service said.