President of Turkey and leader of Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks during his party's group meeting at Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Feb 26, 2020. (ADEM ALTAN / AFP)

ISTANBUL/TEHRAN – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he had asked President Vladimir Putin for Russia to stand aside in Syria and let Turkey fight Syrian government forces alone, after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed this week.

But the Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, kept up air strikes in the northwestern province of Idlib, attacking the strategic city of Saraqeb which sits on an important road, the Syrian Observatory war monitor reported.

The government forces’ air strikes are part of a major assault to capture the province, part of the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey.

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Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, meanwhile, said the same day that his country is ready to host a meeting with the participation of the presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia over the Syria conflicts.

With diplomacy sponsored by Ankara and Moscow to ease tensions in tatters, Turkey has come closer than ever to confrontation with Russia on the battlefield in Syria

Turkey, which has poured forces into Idlib, also hit back, killing 26 pro-Damascus troops around Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Observatory said, and Turkey-backed rebels said they had re-taken six towns and villages in southern Idlib.

With diplomacy sponsored by Ankara and Moscow to ease tensions in tatters, Turkey has come closer than ever to confrontation with Russia on the battlefield in Syria.

Speaking in Istanbul, Erdogan said he had told Putin in a phone call to stand aside and let Turkey “do what is necessary” with the Syrian government. He said Turkey did not intend to leave Syria right now.

“We went there because we were invited by the people of Syria. We don’t intend to leave before the people of Syria say, ‘Okay, this is done,’” Erdogan added.

Three rounds of talks between Russia and Turkey failed to yield a ceasefire, but the Kremlin said on Saturday that Putin and Erdogan would discuss all aspects of the Syrian conflict in planned talks in Moscow.

It set no date but officials on both sides say the talks will be on March 5 or 6.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Doha the Idlib issue can be settled only when Erdogan and Putin meet.

Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Cavusoglu also said Turkey wanted the United States to send Patriot missile systems as support in Idlib. Ankara has previously voiced the request, saying it faced air missile threats in the region.

A US State Department official told reporters on Friday that Washington was looking urgently to support Ankara in Idlib with information-sharing and equipment, but that any assistance would not involve military moves by American units.

In a telephone conversation with the Turkish president, Rouhani stressed the integrity of Syria and elimination of the "terrorist group" in the Arab state. In the battle against the terrorists, the fate of the civilians is also at stake, he said.

These issues can be addressed in a summit of three countries which Tehran is ready to host, he added.

For his part, Erdogan also stressed the political solution to Syria conflicts, saying that the current situation of escalation of tensions in Idlib of Syria has put in risk the peace process that had already begun in the Syrian northern district.