May 31, 2018

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks Thursday with the envoy on Syria of Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin official's second visit to Ankara in a week as cooperation deepens.

Erdogan hosted Alexander Lavrentiev for talks at his Ankara palace, the Turkish presidency said, without elaborating on their discussion.

Lavrentiev last visited Ankara on May 24, when he had come directly from talks the day earlier in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an eye-catching itinerary that startled analysts.

On that occasion he met with Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and top foreign ministry officials. In Moscow, the foreign ministry said only they had discussed "tasks aimed at advancing the political solution in Syria".

Erdogan and Putin also held the latest in a series of phone conversations on Tuesday, discussing issues including Syria.