Turkish, Russian top diplomats speak over phone as Sochi summit begins

ANKARA

Turkish and Russian foreign ministers, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Sergei Lavrov, spoke over the phone on Jan. 30, as around 1,500 Syrian representatives from various segments launched national dialogue talks in Sochi for a political settlement, diplomatic sources said.

There was no statement on the motive of the Çavuşoğlu-Lavrov phone exchange.

Turkey and Russia have been cooperating on a number of issues in Syria, including on the Sochi process that aims to intensify efforts to find a political breakthrough to the ongoing seven-year long civil war in Syria. The conference was expected to begin early Jan. 30.