Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are likely to hold a telephone conversation soon, Sputnik news agency reported citing Turkish media.

According to Turkish sources, the proposal was made by Vladimir Putin in the recent meeting with Erdogan in Sochi.

Putin and Erdogan met in Sochi last Friday to discuss a range of issues, including Syria, the Ukraine crisis and the energy issue in Europe.

Sputnik further added that a Persian Gulf country and an African country are consulting and making diplomatic contacts with Turkey and Syria to hold a meeting between Assad and Erdogan.

If it happens, it will be the first phone call between Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011.

The news comes as the Turkish army is preparing for military action inside Syria in the northern and northeastern regions of the country. The governments of Damascus, Moscow and Tehran are strongly against the action.

Reporter's code: 50101