BREAKING NEWS

Russia's Lavrov calls for Syria-Turkey talks to resolve Afrin standoff

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the situation in Syria's Afrin could be resolved through direct dialog between Damascus and Ankara, the Interfax news agency cited him as saying.

Turkey-led forces will begin besieging the town in coming days, part of Ankara's operation to drive out the Kurdish YPG militia, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Erdogan said the deployment of Syrian government troops in the region had been thwarted by Turkey after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.