A senior deputy from Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called on the United Nations to intervene in the crisis in Syria's Idlib province.

Speaking to journalists in the Parliament on Tuesday, CHP's parliamentary group acting chairman Engin Altay said that the Idlib issue was "a national security issue" for Turkey. "The U.N. should immediately intervene in Idlib," said Altay. "Turkey should hold intense talks with all opposition parties in Idlib to push for a cease-fire," he added.

Leading CHP figures have previously said that Ankara should communicate directly with Damascus, a proposal the government deems impossible as the Syrian regime has committed a great number of humanitarian atrocities in the past seven years since the war in Syria began.