Russia says in contact with Turkey regarding northern Syria

Russia’s ambassador to Turkey’s Ankara Aleksey Yerhov on Wednesday said that the two countries were in communication regarding the developments in northern Syria.

“We are in contact with Turkey regarding the situation in northern Syria,” Yerhov said, adding that the Syria summit to be held in Iran’s Tehran on Sept. 7 was an opportunity to reach a solution for the war-torn country.

The summit held in Tehran will be attended by the leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey. Idlib, which is the last major opposition-stronghold, will be on the agenda.

On Tuesday, Russian warplanes bombed several areas in Idlib, raising worries of a major assault by the Assad regime forces and its allies.

Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled from other cities following attacks by regime forces.

In May, Idlib was designated a “de-escalation zone” -- in which acts of aggression are expressly forbidden -- as part of ongoing peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana.