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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkish Team to Discuss Syria, Libya Conflicts in Russia

Children sleep on a migrant woman's lap as they wait at the main bus station in Istanbul, Turkey, September 15, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

A Turkish team was in Russia on Monday for talks on the conflicts in Syria and Libya, following reports that tens of thousands more Syrians were heading to Turkey, which is already host to the world's biggest refugee population.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday more than 80,000 civilians in Syria's northwest Idlib province were migrating towards Turkey, after Russian and Syrian forces intensified their air strikes in the area in recent days.

Turkey-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said 120,000 Syrians in south Idlib were fleeing towards the border, the Associated Press reported.

Turkey already hosts about 3.7 million Syrians, the largest refugee population in the world. It worries about a new influx.

"We are putting up every effort with Russia for the attacks to stop, and we will continue to do so. In fact, we are sending a delegation to Moscow," Erdogan said in his comments on Sunday.

The Turkish delegation will also discuss Turkey's potential troop deployment and military support to Libya, after Ankara and Tripoli signed a military cooperation accord last month.

Russia has said it was concerned about any such deployment.

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