Vladimir Putin

The two leaders spoke as they sought to mend ties over the November incident that saw Moscow slap sanctions on Ankara, and reportedly agreed on the phone to meet in person.

"Reiterating their commitment to reinvigorate bilateral relations and fight terrorism together, the two leaders agreed to remain in contact and meet in person," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) decided not to lift the suspension, imposed after accusations of state-sponsored doping.

Individual athletes can compete as neutrals if they prove they are clean.

The Russian president called on other bodies, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to intervene.

The IOC executive board said it would hold a telephone conference on Saturday to discuss the issue ahead of a full IOC summit in Lausanne on Tuesday.

The United States launched a ground-based missile defense system earlier this month in Romania. The system is meant to defend Europe against rogue states like Iran and not intended to target Moscow's missiles, Washington has said.

Putin issued his threat during a news conference Friday after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Aleksis Tsipras in Athens.

The EU is expected to renew sanctions in a matter of weeks.

Alexis Tsipras was speaking at a joint news conference in Athens with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin said there would be "no discussions" about Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that was seized by Kremlin-backed forces in 2014, leading to sanctions from the EU and US.

The territory, which has an ethnic Russian majority, later voted to join Russia in a referendum that Ukraine and Western countries deem illegal.

Blatter is under criminal investigation in Switzerland over a two million Swiss francs ($2.79 million) payment made to vice president Michel Platini in 2011 for work carried out about a decade earlier.

Both Blatter and Platini are serving a 90-day ban from all football-related activities in connection with the investigation, with the football governing body to vote for a new head on February 26.

The statement was made to the Associated Press by Iraqi government officials. 

Obama made his remarks at a White House news conference Friday.

The president called Russia's military involvement, including airstrikes that began this week, a self-defeating exercise that will move the Syrian conflict further from a solution.

Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies on Wednesday that Russian jets are carrying out targeted airstrikes on the positions, vehicles and warehouses that Russia believes belong to IS militants.

Russia's upper chamber of parliament earlier on Wednesday gave the green light to President Vladimir Putin's request to send Russian troops to Syria.

Syrian newspapers said the speech drew "clear outlines" for what is needed to "fight terrorism" on a global level.

In his address Monday in New York, Putin urged the world to stick with Assad, saying it was a "huge mistake" not to engage the Syrian military in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Obama is urging a political transition to replace the Syrian president but Putin is warning it would be a mistake to abandon the current government.

Obama and Putin's dueling speeches at a United Nations General Assembly summit served as a public preview of their private meeting late Monday. The sit-down marks their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year and comes amid escalating Russian military engagement in Syria.