Russia's Putin to meet Turkish President Erdogan in Moscow to discuss Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are all set to meet in Moscow on March 5. The two presidents will reportedly talk about a ceasefire deal with the backdrop of increased fighting between Turkish and Syrian government forces in Idlib, Syria's northwestern province. As per reports, the meeting will also try to salvage a deteriorating relationship between two economic partners.

In hopes of reaching a ceasefire

Prior to his visit, the Turkish President reportedly claimed that the meeting with the Russian President will result in a swift ceasefire. According to reports, Russia, on the other hand, will try and maintain a perilous position of sparing with Turkey and supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

According to reports, Russia will try and convince Turkey to accept the new realities in Syria that the Syrian government forces will not back down to previous positions. Reports also indicated that both parties will have to give in on certain aspects if they wish to achieve a ceasefire.

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Reports have indicated that both Russia and Turkey are unhappy with each other's efforts to implement the Sochi agreement. The agreement that was signed by both countries in 2018, talks of the creation of a 'de-escalation' zone with 12 observation towers around Idlib.

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The Russians believe that Turkey is not doing enough to separate 'moderate' rebels from 'terrorists'. The Russians also claim that the latest offensive that they launched in December last year is to try and dislodge these terrorists. Reports show that Ankara on the other had accused Russia of violating the ceasefire that was agreed upon in 2011 multiple times. According to reports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that while Kremlin acknowledges that the meeting will be a difficult one but continues to hope for new agreements will be discovered in the  Sochi framework.