Russia urges to close Syrian-Turkish border

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday in a phone call with the US State Secretary John Kerry urged to close the Syrian-Turkish border to curb the flow of terrorists.

"Lavrov reiterated that the Turkey-Syria border remains 'full of holes' and is actively used for infiltration of terrorist militants into Syria via Turkey," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Lavrov noted the border must be sealed, and called for an agreement on necessary measures to resolve this issue, including under the framework of the UN Security Council," the statement said.

Lavrov and Kerry confirmed they would continue supporting talks between the Syrian government and the entire spectrum of the Syrian opposition under the UN aegis.

The two diplomats continued their discussion on concrete steps to consolidate the current ceasefire in Syria, expand humanitarian access and effectively counter terrorism.

Russia and the US have maintained constant contacts over the Syrian issues in a bid to push forward the political settlement process in the war-torn country.

Despite disagreement with Washington over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and Turkey have been at odds over the participation of Syrian Kurds in the political process, which was firmly opposed by Ankara as it sees advances by autonomy-seeking Kurds led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Turkey sees the PYD as an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and has been angered by the Kurds' consolidation along its southern border.