Erdogan, Putin discuss Syrian city of Aleppo over phone

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish and Russian presidents on Wednesday had a phone conversation on Syrian city of Aleppo, according to a presidential source.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin agreed to step up efforts to stop clashes in the Syrian city of Aleppo and delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilians in the conflict-hit city, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations and stressed on importance of the normalizations of relations between the two countries.

Wednesday's phone call is third since Friday.

Located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Turkish border, Aleppo is Syria’s second-largest city that used to be home to around three million people, mainly Arabs, including 400,000 Turkmens and 200,000 Kurds.

A year after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, opposition forces took control of the city’s eastern districts.

In 2013, the Assad regime began a campaign of indiscriminate bombardment on the city that has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the war-battered city.