Erdogan calls on Putin to end attacks in northern Syria by regime forces

ISTANBUL: Turkey's Erdogan told Russia's Putin on a phone call on Thursday that for the Sochi Summit and the Astana process to succeed, Syrian regime's attacks on Idlib and East Ghouta have to be stopped, Turkish presidential sources said.

Turkey has been fiercely opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his country's six-year-old civil war but has recently been working with his allies Russia and Iran for a political resolution to the conflict.

The three countries agreed last year to establish a "de-escalation zone" in the opposition-held Idlib province and surrounding region, which borders Turkey, but Syrian forces have since launched an offensive in the area.