Turkey FM on Syria ceasefire talks with Russia

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday said Turkey intended to continue working with Russia to establish a permanent ceasefire in Syria. Speaking in Tirana, Albania, Cavusoglu said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had held a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and a Turkish delegation would soon head to Moscow for further talks.

However he added Turkey would "do what's necessary" if no solution was found to the recent escalation in Idlib province.

Earlier Erdogan announced Turkey would attack government forces anywhere in Syria if another Turkish soldier was injured.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Russian air cover, have been advancing into the last rebel-held areas of Idlib and the nearby Aleppo countryside, seizing dozens of towns and sparking a large-scale humanitarian crisis.

Turkey, a main backer of the rebels, has rolled armored vehicles into Idlib, apparently to prevent government forces from reaching the border areas with Turkey.

The fighting recently escalated with two separate clashes between Syrian and Turkish troops, killing 13 on each side, including five Turkish soldiers who were killed Monday.