Turkey presses Russia for new Idlib truce: presidential spokesman

• Turkey said Tuesday it was talking to Russia with the aim of reaching a new ceasefire.
• The Idlib region has seen an uptick in violence in recent days as regime forces supported by Russian airstrikes.
• Idlib hosts some three million people including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria.

ISTANBUL: Turkey said Tuesday it was talking to Russia with the aim of reaching a new ceasefire after increased bombardment in Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

"We are closely following the process for an end to the attacks, and these attacks should come to an end immediately and implemented under a new ceasefire," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told a televised news conference. "This is our main expectation from the Russian side."

The Idlib region has seen an uptick in violence in recent days as regime forces supported by Russian airstrikes have launched a fresh assault to capture one of the largest urban centres in the area.

President Bashar al-Assad's government has repeatedly vowed to take back the area, and bombardment has continued despite a ceasefire announced in August.

Turkey on Monday sent a delegation to Moscow led by Turkish deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal for talks on the Idlib issue, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara cannot handle a new refugee flow on its own.

Idlib hosts some three million people including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria.

Kalin said Russian authorities told the Turkish delegation that Moscow would try to bring its influence to bear on ally Damascus for a cessation of violence.

"We are now waiting for (Russia) to begin efforts in the coming 24 hours for an end to the regime attacks in Idlib."