The phone call followed a Syrian regime attack on Idlib earlier Monday which killed five Turkish soldiers and one civilian personnel member. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian regime.
Located in northwestern Syria, the Idlib province has been the stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
It is currently home to some 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces across the war-weary country.
Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians since the agreement.
In a fresh move, Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib would start just after midnight on Jan. 12. However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their ground attacks.
Almost 1.5 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border to flee intense attacks since the beginning of 2019.
