Moscow has launched intense military and diplomatic measures ahead of an expected operation by the Syrian regime on rebel-held Idlib province.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that the Russian military was in talks with leaders of armed groups in Idlib to reach a peace settlement.
Shoigu said the aim of the Idlib talks was to reach peaceful resolution similar to the settlements in Syria's Eastern Ghouta and Daraa.
The minister said that Syria would be ready to accept one million returning refugees, following Moscow-backed reconstruction work.
"Now every opportunity has been created for the return of roughly one million (more) refugees," he told journalists.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov also charged that Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham "is close to committing a very serious provocation in Idlib using chemical weapons."
He said on Tuesday that Moscow called for an emergency UN Security Council session to warn about the plots to carry out a chemical attack.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said in remarks published Tuesday that Moscow is seeking a quick settlement to the Syrian crisis based on Security Council Resolution 2254 and in line with the Syrian national dialogue held in Sochi earlier this year.
He warned that the latest Western threats to strike Syrian military bases aim at obstructing the political process.
Lavrov said that the US and its allies have carried out attacks on Syrian military bases although they have not provided any evidence on the regime’s use of chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, reports said that Russia sent two warships and an additional anti-aircraft missile system to the Mediterranean in August.
Russia currently has 10 warships and two submarines in Syrian waters, amounting to Moscow's biggest military presence there since it became involved in the conflict in September 2015.
