Russian, Turkish foreign ministers discuss Syria, other matters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Chavushoglu agreed on the need to create a “favorable atmosphere” to improve working relations between their countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday.

“The ministers have declared in favor of the adoption of measures to create a favorable atmosphere that will facilitate the effectiveness of the dialogue on the implementation of agreements in support of the Syrian settlement and other issues on the agenda of Russian-Turkish relations,” the ministry said.

Lavrov and Chavushoglu, in a phone call, also discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Mark Potter)