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Top Russian, Turkish diplomats hold phone talks, says source in Turkish ministry

The phone call comes amid deterioration in Syria

ANKARA, February 3. /TASS/. Turkish and Russian Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sergey Lavrov have held phone talks on Monday, a source in the Turkish diplomatic agency told TASS.

"Our [foreign] minister held phone talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," the source said without specifying what the talks focused on.

The phone call comes amid deterioration in Syria.

Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that Turkish positions near the town of Saraqib in Syria’s Idlib Province had been shelled, killing six soldiers and wounding nine more. Ankara claims that the Syrian army was behind the attack in spite of the fact that it was timely informed about where Turkish forces are located. Erdogan later revealed that Turkish aviation and artillery had retaliated, striking 40 targets in Idlib and "neutralizing 30-35 Syrians."

However, the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian Defense Ministry’s agency) noted that Turkish military personnel came under the Syrian government forces’ fire targeting terrorists early on Monday in Idlib because the Turkish side did not notify Russia about its movements. The Syrian forces targeted terrorists that were retreating to Saraqib.

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