Erdoğan and Putin agree to step up military coordination against ISIL in phone call

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone on Feb. 9, Reuters has reported.

The two leaders agreed to increase military coordination in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to officals from the Kremlin.

It did not provide any details, but said Putin had expressed his condolences to Erdoğan over the death of several Turkish soldiers killed near the ISIL-held city of al-Bab in northern Syria.
   
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters resumed a major offensive inside the city on Feb. 9, a day after they broke through ISIL defences in its remaining stronghold in Aleppo province.