Erdoğan, Putin meet in Sochi with Syria's Idlib top of agenda

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the Russian leader's presidential residence on Monday in the coastal city of Sochi in a bid to find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis around Syria's opposition-held Idlib.

The bilateral meeting, which was closed to the media, started at 2:50 pm local time (1150GMT).

Putin told Erdoğan in opening remarks carried by Russian news agencies that they will be "looking for solutions where there are none right now," without mentioning Idlib by name.

"I believe our joint statement following this meeting will give the region a new hope," Erdoğan said.

"At the moment, I believe, not only our region but also the world is looking at Sochi today," he added.

Erdoğan on Monday was meeting Putin for the second time in just 10 days after Russia and Iran expressed support for the idea of an offensive on Idlib.

The province of Idlib in northwestern Syria is the largest bastion of the opposition, and Turkey has been eager to prevent a potential regime offensive there.

Russia calls Idlib a hotbed of terrorism and says the Syrian government has the right to retake control of it. Turkey has appealed to Russia and Iran for a diplomatic resolution to the ticking bomb. At the same time, it has sent reinforcements to its troops ringing Idlib, a move designed to ward off a ground assault, at least for now.

Idlib and surrounding areas is home to over 3 million Syrians, and an estimated 60,000 opposition fighters.

Erdoğan and Putin were also expected to discuss relations between Turkey and Russia, economy and energy issues, as well as regional and international issues, particularly Syria.