Turkish top officials meet Russian defense minister

ANKARA / MOSCOW

Turkey's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu in Moscow on Friday.

The top officials discussed regional security, recent developments in Syria, and bilateral cooperation between Ankara and said a Turkish official who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

According to a statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry, "The heads of the military services continued a substantive dialogue on the situation in Syria, which began a week ago at a bilateral meeting in Moscow, during which the Russian side handed over to Turkish colleagues proposals on resolving the situation in the northwest of Syria.''

The meeting was expected to address the issue of Idlib in northwestern Syria, a subject also addressed today in a meeting in Moscow between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Last week Fidan and Akar also visited Moscow where they met with Russian officials along with Shoygu, in a meeting focusing on humanitarian aid to Syria and the return of refugees from abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to receive the Turkish officials later in the day.