Turkey’s Erdogan Presses Russia’s Putin to Halt Syria Assault

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in an effort to calm rising hostilities in Syria, where they back opposite sides in the country’s decadelong civil war. Russian warplanes supporting an assault by the Assad regime have escalated attacks in recent weeks on northwestern Syria, the last major section of the country held by rebel factions, many of whom are backed by Turkey. Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed six rebel fighters and wounded more than a dozen others. Turkish officials say Mr. Erdogan’s main objective was to get Russia to halt the assault. Ankara fears that a full-scale offensive on the area could send tens of thousands of more refugees toward its territory.

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