Negotiations Between Erdogan and Putin Begin in Sochi, Topic: Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have commenced narrow-format negotiations in Sochi, according to RIA Novosti.

Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the conversation between the presidents will be "substantive, complex, and not fast-paced," as they have many issues to discuss.

The main topic of the meeting is expected to be the situation in Syria, stemming from Turkey's military operations and the Turkish-American agreement to cease operations for 120 hours.

One day before the meeting with Putin, Erdogan announced that Turkey will take steps regarding Syria after the meeting with the Russian president. Today, Tuesday evening, marks the end of the 120-hour agreement.

Erdogan has also indicated that he intends to discuss the next phase of creating a "security zone" in Syria with his Russian counterpart.

Before the negotiations began, Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized the situation along the Turkish-Syrian border as "acute" and deemed the dialogue as "necessary." He expressed hope that the level of Russian-Turkish relations achieved recently would play a role in resolving all issues and assist in finding answers even to the most complex questions for the benefit of Turkey, Russia, and all countries in the region.

It is worth noting that on October 17, as a result of negotiations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Turkey committed to cease its operations for 120 hours to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from a 30 km "security zone."