The Turkish leader made the remarks during an almost three-hour closed meeting between the pair that was closed to the press in southern Russia’s resort city of Sochi, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Erdogan underlined the importance of joint actions between Turkey and Russia regarding the conflict in Syria, where the countries support opposing sides, Anadolu said.
''The steps we take together in relation to Syria are of great importance,” Erdogan told Putin. “Peace (in Syria) depends on the relations between Turkey and Russia.’’
Wednesday’s summit was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in the past year-and-a-half and arrived against the backdrop of an increase in airstrikes on Turkey-backed opposition fighters’ positions in northern Syria and especially in northwestern Idlib province.
Moscow and Ankara last year reached a cease-fire agreement which halted a three-month Syrian government offensive in Idlib and also saw rare direct fighting between Syrian and Turkish troops.
Earlier this month, Putin met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Moscow, where he criticized the presence of Turkish and U.S. forces in northern Syria, referring to their presence as being illegal and a flagrant violation of international law, Ahval reported.
Putin on Wednesday highlighted his country’s cooperation with Turkey in the international arena, referring specifically to Syria, Libya, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh, Anadolu reported.
"Our cooperation (with Turkey), is ongoing successfully in the international arena,’’ Putin said, adding that meetings with his Turkish counterpart were not always without problems, but the institutions of both countries were able to reach resolutions between them.
The two leaders discussed the economic sector and in international relations, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, as well as cooperation in the energy sector.
Putin thanked Erdogan for his stance on the construction of TurkStream, an export gas pipeline stretching from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, TASS reported.
Erdogan left Russia on the same day as the summit, without releasing a statement or holding a presser.
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