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Putin, Erdogan agree on Idlib but maneuver on Kurds

While Moscow and Ankara agreed to reinforce cooperation on Idlib to fight Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Putin's proposal on the "buffer zone" in Syria's northeast sent Erdogan home thinking, at least until the next round of Astana talks
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MOSCOW — While the much anticipated encounter between the presidents of Russia and Turkey in Moscow on Jan. 23 did not provide answers to all of the imminent questions the two are faced with in Syria, it did provide important clues as to where the respective bilateral disagreements were and how the two may proceed to address them.

President Vladmir Putin offered a very warm welcome to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, crediting impressive figures in bilateral trade to Erdogan’s commitment to the relationship.

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