Turkey said on Sunday that it was seeking another international summit to discuss the situation in Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would be reaching out to his counterparts in Germany, France, and Russia.

"We will address regional topics at the four-way meeting in Istanbul," Erdogan said, according to Turkish newspapers.

There has been no confirmation of the meeting, which Erdogan said is to take place on September 7, in Berlin, Paris, or Moscow.

Erdogan also said he would like a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pair recently met along with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss regional stability.

While both Tehran and Moscow support the regime of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, Ankara has repeatedly called for his resignation and has supported the rebels fighting government forces.

As the Syrian government slowly retakes the last rebel strongholds, Assad recently announced he was moving on the city of Idlib — a move of great concern to Erdogan. Idlib is close to the Turkish border, and clashes there would likely send refugees fleeing to Turkey.

es/aw (AFP, dpa)