Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan has revealed his plans to visit Russia within the next few days and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow, for its part, said that a meeting with Erdogan in coming days is currently not on Putin's agenda, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
READ MORE: White House: Erdogan Invites Trump to Turkey, Yet ‘Nothing Definite' Planned
Erdogan's announcement comes after Turkey stated earlier in the day that its army was ready to start a military operation on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River against the Kurdish forces at the earliest opportunity.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump declared the US would be pulling out its nearly 2,000-strong military force from Syria as the Daesh* terrorist group had been crushed in the country. The decision was met with criticism from Washington's European allies, including Germany and France.
Subsequent media speculations claimed that Trump made the move only after being reassured by Erdogan that Turkey would eliminate terrorist remnants in Syria.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups, as well as militant and terrorist organisations. Russia, along with Turkey, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. Moscow has also been providing humanitarian aid to residents of the crisis-torn country.
*Daesh (also known as the Islamic state/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia.
