Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to narrow the differences between Ankara and Moscow on the Syria conflict amid surging violence.
Both men appeared guarded after emerging from the talks, offering little detail on whether progress was achieved to reconcile their dispute over the violence, which on Wednesday engulfed the capital Damascus and killed several high-ranking officials, including President Bashar al-Assad's brother in law.
"We are against breaching Syria's territorial stability, but 18,000 people died as a result of the Syrian regime's actions," Erdogan told reporters, flanked by Putin.
"There is a regime that mercilessly kills its people," the Turkish PM said, adding that recent international talks in Geneva provided a "roadmap" but that delaying an international solution to the conflict "leads to loss of lives."
"We want the Syrian people to decide. In that situation the UN Security Council and the permanent members of the UN Security Council face important decisions," Erdogan said.
The Geneva talks in late June produced an agreement praised by Russia which called for a transitional government in Syria without setting any conditions for the current government in Damascus.
Putin barely spoke on the Syria crisis during the brief news conference, saying only that he "welcomed Turkey's support" of the decisions reached in the Geneva talks.
The sides also exchanged information about a Turkish jet that was downed recently amid unclear circumstances over the Mediterranean, an incident that a Russian military official said was caused by Turkey's breach of Syrian airspace.
It was not clear where Russia, which supplies air defence systems to Syria, obtained its information on the matter.
Russia has faced mounting criticism from the West for what is seen as a pro-Assad stance, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French President Francois Hollande recently accusing Moscow of hindering progress in Syria.