Erdogan and Putin discuss Syria in phone conversation

Syrian traffic among Turkey, the USA and Russia has speeded up. After having a phone call with US President Obama on Syria for one hour on Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arranged a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin for 45 minutes to exchange opinions regarding the Geneva II meeting. During the call, Erdogan reportedly said, "If we are not going to get a result in Geneva, let's not try in vain," underlining that Geneva meeting should not be an instrument for saving time for the Syrian regime. Stating that the humanitarian situation in Syria was deteriorating, Erdogan requested to take concrete steps towards finding a solution to the conflict. Touching upon the fact that use of chemical weapons was detected, Erdogan requested Russia to play a constructive role. Putin, in response, said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's days were numbered, but argued that the change should not be affected via military intervention. The two leaders also exchanged opinions about the G-20 Summit planned to take place in St. Petersburg in September. It is striking that Erdogan and Putin, who are on differing pursuits regarding the Syrian conflict, held this call shortly after Erdogan's call with Obama. It was also reported that Erdogan and Putin touched on the importance of the High Level Cooperation Council established between the two countries. Kremlin Press Bureau made a declaration on the phone call, stating that the two leaders are ready to coordinate activities in the context of finding a political solution for the Syrian crisis.