Putin holds talks with Erdogan to seek Syria ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a ceremony marking the formal launch of the TurkStream pipeline which will carry Russian natural gas to southern Europe through Turkey, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Thursday with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan over a potential ceasefire in northern Syria and offered condolences over the recent killing of Turkish soldiers there.

Putin, speaking beside Erdogan at the start of talks, said the situation in Idlib province, where their armies are facing off in a war that has displaced nearly a million people in three months, had become so tense it required one-on-one talks.