Turkish, Russian, German, French Leaders to Meet in Istanbul - Erdogan

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The leaders of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France will meet in Istanbul on September 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Sunday.

"On September 7, we will host the summit of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France in Istanbul, we will discuss what we can do. We will discuss the issues of the region at this meeting of the four," Erdogan said, as quoted in Vatan newspaper, in response to a question about Syria.

The four leaders will also discuss the agenda of the trilateral summit of Turkey, Russia and Iran on Syria.

Earlier this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the conflict in Syria had escalated to an enormous scale and cannot be settled without the participation of Russia, Turkey, Iran, Europe and other regional powers.

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At the beginning of this year, Ankara launched an operation code-named Olive Branch, aiming to clear its border with Syria of Kurdish groups, which it believes to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.