Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would "take all necessary steps" to protect its troops deployed in the Idlib region (northwestern Syria), while Russian President Vladimir Putin considered the establishment of a safe area on the southern border of Turkey "a positive step."

"The situation is so complicated after the Syrian regime's attack that our soldiers are now in danger. We don't want this to continue. We will take all necessary steps," Erdogan told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Putin on Tuesday.

He added that the attack undermined calm in the Idlib area, stressing that the attacks are unacceptable.

Syrian forces have surrounded opposition fighters and a Turkish military post in northwestern Syria in an offensive aimed at recovering land and towns lost at the start of the war.

For his part, the Russian president considered that the establishment of a security zone on Turkey's border with Syria would be good for the territorial integrity of Syria.

"We understand very well the sensitivities of Turkey and the security of its borders must be guaranteed and this is its legitimate right," Putin said.

"The situation in the area of ​​de-escalation in Idlib raises serious concerns for us and our Turkish partners," he said, referring to "additional joint measures to normalize the situation", without giving further details.

The Russian president said that he and his Turkish counterpart have identified additional joint measures aimed at eliminating "terrorists" in the Idlib region, and to restore the situation to normal there and in Syria as a result.

After his talks with Erdogan, Putin said he and the Turkish president stressed that Syria should remain a united state.

The two leaders' press conference followed a closed-door meeting held at Moscow airport that lasted one hour and 20 minutes.

Anatolian news agency said another meeting at the delegation level began after the two leaders' meeting. The meeting took place with the participation of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Finance Minister Barat Albayrak, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and other officials.

Before the press conference, the two presidents attended a parade of Russian-made warplanes in Moscow.

Erdogan stressed that his country wants to continue cooperation with Russia in the defense industry, including warplanes.