Russia's Putin and Turkey's Erdogan hold Syria, defence talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia September 29, 2021. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow's sales of military defence systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections.

The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin was ending a period of coronavirus-related self-isolation by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.