Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed today his willingness to cooperate with Syria and Russia in efforts to fight terrorism, Anadolu Agency reported.

Right now we want to step together with Syria and Russia as a trio.

For this, our intelligence services should meet first, then our defense ministers and then our foreign ministers, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters aboard the presidential plane on his way back from a visit to Turkmenistan.

Erdogan said that in their last phone call, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin welcomed the possibility for the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Syria to meet for talks after a meeting of intelligence, defense and foreign affairs officials.

Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Ankara backs rebels fighting to oust him.

Turkey, whose troops are already present on Syrian territory south of its border, has however changed its stance towards Damascus in recent months.

Ankara has recently engaged in processes of normalizing relations with several regional powers, including Israel and Egypt, notes AFP.

It is necessary to start work on supplies of Turkmen gas to the western markets right now

The Turkish president also criticized EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's latest comments on Turkey's ties with Russia, as well as Borrell's calls for Ankara to join European sanctions against Moscow.

"I do not accept Borel as my interlocutor. He can only be an interlocutor of Mr. (Turkish Foreign Minister) Mevlüt (Çavuşoğlu)," Erdogan said, describing Borel's remarks as "ugly."

Erdoğan emphasized that Borel cannot define Turkey's relations with Russia.

He has neither the quality nor the capacity to make such a decision on these matters.

It was an ugly comment, Erdogan added.