NUR-SULTAN, June 16. /TASS/. Russia’s delegates have attempted to persuade Turkey to find a peaceful solution in Syria at a meeting in Nur-Sultan, the head of the Russian delegation said on Thursday.

"We [Russia] tried to persuade them [Turkey] in the need for a peaceful settlement without using force, because that could cause an escalation", Russia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said, referring to Ankara’s plans to launch another military operation in Syria.

In early June, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention to run a new military operation in northern Syria aiming to include Tell Rifaat and Manbij in the security zone established along the border in October 2019. Turkey currently controls 10% of Syria’s territory where 4.4. million people live.