​​​​​​​Putin-Erdogan meeting ends without a press conference... Exacerbation of differences or undeclared Turkish concession?

 The meeting of the two presidents was held in the Russian city of Sochi on the Black Sea, today, Wednesday, during which the two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional issues - the situation in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and the Caucasus, according to Russian media.

 The talks between the two presidents ended without making a final statement or holding a press conference at the headquarters of the talks, which indicates that there was no consensus or that Turkey made concessions to the Russian side regarding the situation in Idlib.

 After that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he left Sochi after fruitful talks with Putin.

 At the beginning of the meeting, a protocol meeting was held, during which Putin and Erdogan spoke. Putin indicated that his talks with Erdogan have continued since their last face-to-face meeting in March 2020.

 He continued, "The talks between us sometimes encounter difficulties, but they lead to positive final results, and our specialized committees have learned to find compromise solutions that are in the interest of both sides."

 By this, Putin meant the existence of many contentious files between Russia and Turkey, including Syria, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan and the Crimean Tatars.

 Russia and Turkey made many deals in Syria that take into account the interests of the two countries at the expense of the blood of the Syrian people. Through these deals, Moscow helped the Damascus government regain control over large areas of lands that were out of Damascus' control since 2011.

 For more than a month, Russian warplanes have not left the airspace of Idlib governorate, targeting all its countryside, especially the southern ones known as "Jabal al-Zawiya".

 In the past few days, Russian planes have targeted Turkish mercenary points in occupied Afrin, in a new escalation that is understood as messages of pressure before the upcoming meeting between Putin and Erdogan.

 Russia insists on the entry of government forces into the Idlib areas and the opening of the international road M4. The aforementioned road links the cities controlled by Damascus forces in Aleppo and Latakia. For several months, it witnessed the conduct of Russian-Turkish patrols, but soon they stopped.

 A few days before the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Russia the situation in Syria's Idlib.

 In televised statements, Peskov said that the presidents of the two countries showed political will and were able to reach an agreement on Idlib, but "unfortunately, terrorist activities continue in those territories."  He added, "It is unacceptable and dangerous. It is something that obstructs the settlement process in Syria. Most likely, all of this is on the agenda."

 The meeting, which was held between Putin and Erdogan on the twenty-ninth of this September, is the first of its kind, since the last meeting in March 2020.

 At that time, the two parties agreed on a ceasefire in the Syrian province of Idlib along the front line between the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation and the forces of the Damascus government, to be followed by the establishment of a "security corridor" six kilometers north and six kilometers south of the main international highway in Idlib "M  4".

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ANHA