Putin & Erdogan vow more cooperation on Syria after US-led airstrikes

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke on the phone following the strikes launched by the US, the UK and France against targets in Syria. Putin reiterated his statement that attacking Syria without a UN Security Council mandate was a violation of international law on the part of the Western powers, a statement on the Russian presidency website says. "The Russian and Turkish sides are assuming that in light of what happened, it is required to boost two-way cooperation, aiming for real advancement of political settlement in Syria," the Kremlin said. Earlier, however, Erdogan praised the Western attack as an "appropriate" message to the Syrian government.