Putin and Erdogan holding meeting in Sochi

The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is underway in Russia's Sochi.

According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the talks between the heads of state will be comprehensive and complicated, as "there are so many topics."

He added that the upcoming bilateral meeting will be comprehensive.

 "The intention is focusing on discussing the state of affairs in Syria, including normalizing the situation in northeast of the country, countering international terrorist groups and promoting the process of the political settlement in light of the upcoming launch of the Constitutional Committee among other things," the Kremlin said on it website.

Putin has described the situation in Syria as acute, stressing that against this background the consultations with the Turkish leader are especially vital.

"The situation in the region is very acute, we understand this," Putin said opening his meeting with Erdogan. "I think our meeting today and our consultations are in high demand," TASS cited the Russian leader as saying.

Putin voiced hope that "the level of Russian-Turkish ties that has been achieved now will play its role in ironing out all challenging issues seen in the region today." The Russian president also voiced hope that this would give answers to all issues, both in the interests of Turkey and Russia, and all regional states.

The Russian president warmly welcomed the Turkish delegation, thanking it for the decision to come to Sochi.

Yesterday, Erdogan said that he would take "further steps" in northeastern Syria after his meeting with the Russian leader.