Putin certain Sochi summit will give fresh impetus to settlement in Syria

"Today, we are to hold the fourth summit of the Astana process guarantor nations in Sochi. I am confident that we will be able to give a fresh impetus to the normalization of the situation in Syria, both on the ground and as part of political and diplomatic efforts to establish inter-Syrian dialogue," TASS quoted Putin as saying at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held in the run-up to the Russian, Turkish and Iranian summit on Syria scheduled for Thursday.

"We’ve done a lot together with you, dear Mr. President. We have come a long way," Putin said addressing Erdogan. "If we continue working as actively and consistently and seek a compromise, then we will certainly succeed," the Russian leader stressed.

He also offered Erodgan to exchange views on the situation in the region in general and talk about bilateral relations.

At the beginning of the meeting, Putin once again offered his condolences to his Turkish counterpart on the loss of life in the apartment block collapse in Istanbul on February 6.

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