Erdoğan talks to Putin, urges Syrian government to engage in dialogue

The Syrian government should engage in political dialogue amid the ongoing clashes with rebels, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to Erdoğan's office.

Erdoğan called for “room for diplomacy in the region, and underscored that the Syrian regime should engage in the political solution process,” Erdogan`s communication office said on social media platform X.

Turkey will maintain its fight against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its "extensions," Erdoğan added, warning against generating "greater instability" in Syria.

Last week, an alliance of insurgents led by the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a surprise offensive in north-western Syria and took control of Aleppo, leading to a sudden flare-up in a civil war that has been going on since 2011.

Turkish-backed rebels meanwhile captured areas in the north-west from Kurdish militia YPG, whom Ankara considers linked to the PKK.

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.