MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Actions that provoke further escalation of the conflict in Syria must be avoided, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday in a conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.

"While discussing the situation in Syria, Lavrov put the emphasis on the need to avoid unilateral actions that provoke the escalation of the conflict and on the illusiveness of hopes for real progress without efficient distinction between the Syrian opposition and extremists, as well as without safe closure of border with the countries through which support for the terrorist groups is being delivered," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The Russian side stressed the unacceptable nature of accusations over alleged strikes at the civilian population," the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. It added that the informational blockade of the operation to free Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, from terrorists was equally unacceptable.