MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Syria is one of the key countries in the Middle East, and it must be secure for the sake of stability in the whole region, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

According to him, Russia wants to see the Arab Republic prosperous and friendly.

"Russia as a whole wants this region to be stable," he said. "This is a highly volatile region, and, of course, let's just say that the destabilization and disintegration of one of the countries in the region can have damaging consequences for the whole region."

"We want to see Syria united, thriving, developing, secure, and friendly," Peskov added.

On March 6, clashes broke out between the security forces loyal to the new Syrian authorities and the armed groups supporting former Syrian President Bashar Assad in the provinces of Latakia, Tartus, and Homs.

On March 6, clashes broke out in various areas of Latakia between Syrian security forces and armed groups supporting former Syrian President Bashar Assad. The fiercest fighting took place in Jableh, home to Alawites, representatives of the religious minority, to which the Assad family belongs.

The authorities deployed army units and armored vehicles to those provinces, and imposed curfews in the main cities. On March 8, the Syrian transitional government sent additional forces to the coastal areas to restore security and suppress resistance from armed supporters of the former president.

Earlier, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky announced that Russia and the United States submitted a request with the UN Security Council asking to organize behind-the-doors consultations regarding the developments in Syria.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that such consultations should be held as soon as possible. According to him, the Kremlin was deeply troubled by the recent deadly outbreak of violence in Syria.