“I hope we will take a positive step with this meeting,” Sabah newspaper quoted Erdogan as telling reporters.
Turkish and Russian officials have stepped up diplomatic efforts in the past two weeks to try to ease escalating tensions in Idlib, where the two countries established a demilitarised zone according to a 2018 agreement, Ahval news agency reported.
Fifteen Turkish soldiers have been killed by Syrian shelling since the beginning of February, as Russian-backed Syrian forces intensified an assault on the rebel-held enclave.
Turkey accuses Russia of violating the 2018 deal by supporting the Syrian government’s attack on Idlib and sparking a new refugee crisis. Russia says Turkey failed to remove jihadist fighters from the demilitarised zone.
Erdogan also answered questions about a possible four-way meeting with the leaders of Germany, France and Russia.
He said German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron had held a joint call with Putin and had offered to organise a meeting in Istanbul to establish a truce in Idlib.
“About that Istanbul proposal, Putin did not give them the answer they hoped for,” Erdogan said.
Merkel and Macron also held a joint call with Erdogan on Friday to discuss Idlib. Erdoğan asked the German and French leaders to take concrete action to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Idlib, Sabah newspaper said.
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