Putin, Erdogan discuss Syria over phone: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 23, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talked about the Syria issue over phone on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two leaders exchanged views in details on the situation in Syria, the Kremlin said, adding that President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is currently on a working visit to Russia, also took part in the discussion.

The statement did not specify the content of their talks, but considering Putin's recent proposal to arrange a meeting between the Syrian opposition and the government at Kazakhstan's capital of Astana, their phone talk was probably about the preparation for the meeting.

In his earlier talks with Putin, Erdogan has agreed to work with Moscow on such a meeting.

In Sunday's phone talks, Erdogan also extended his condolences to Putin over the crash of a Russian military Tu-154 aircraft into the Black Sea earlier on Sunday, presumably killing all 92 people aboard.