MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday they hoped the current round of Syria peace talks in Astana would lay the groundwork for a Syrian national dialogue congress in Sochi, the Kremlin said.

Speaking over the phone, the two leaders also confirmed their readiness to assist the settlement of the Palestine-Israeli conflict on the basis of international law “and help implement the right of the people of Palestine to create an independent state”, the Kremlin said in a statement.