Putin: We value Russia-Turkey relations

"The situation in Idlib has escalated so much that it requires our direct personal dialogue," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow.

"At the beginning of our meeting, I would like to express my sincere condolences over the death of your servicemen in Syria. The death of people is always a great tragedy. Unfortunately, no one, including the Syrian soldiers themselves, knew where they were. Syrian soldiers also suffered. The Syrian army sustained great losses. Therefore, we need to talk about the situation that has been established so that nothing like this happens again. Besides, it should not harm the Russian-Turkish relations that we value," Putin said.