The April 30 phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan covered a broad range of topics, including trade, military cooperation and Syria, as the two countries continue to grow closer amid US-Turkey tensions. The two leaders endorsed the imminent launch of a constitutional committee for war-torn Syria — an issue Russia strongly promoted at recent talks in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan — and agreed to continue “close coordination of efforts to stabilize the situation in Idlib.” According to the Kremlin, they also “spoke in favor” of achieving a cease-fire in Libya and resuming a political settlement process there under the UN aegis “as soon as possible.”

Why it matters: The tug of war between Russia and the United States over Turkey that has been going on for several years has acquired a new dimension with Moscow’s pending sale of the S-400 missile system to Ankara and the respective pushback on the deal from Washington. Putin’s latest conversation with Erdogan sheds light on Russia’s strategy for wooing the NATO member away from the United States.

Expanding the agenda: Moscow has sought to create a solid basis for its relationship with Ankara that would go beyond Syria with an extensive expansion of the agenda. More emphasis is being placed on a multitude of bilateral and regional issues, notably during Erdogan’s latest visit to Moscow.

Efforts to add Libya to the bilateral agenda are particularly noteworthy. Although Russia and Turkey are unlikely to forge a joint mediation team to broker a cease-fire as each party pursues its own course, the political message sent by sharing a common vision for the flaring conflict and solidarity over how to tackle it are more important to Putin and Erdogan at this stage.