In Blinken call, Turkey backs moves to ease Syria tension

Turkey's top diplomat and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Sunday about the "rapidly developing" conflict in Syria where rebel forces have made gains.

Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed by telephone "the need for de-escalation and the protection of civilian lives and infrastructure in Aleppo and elsewhere," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The call came after Syrian rebels and their Turkish-backed allies launched their biggest offensive in years, seizing control of Syria's second-largest city Aleppo from forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad.

According to a Turkish foreign ministry source, Fidan told Blinken Ankara was "against any development that would increase instability in the region" and said Turkey would "support moves to reduce the tension in Syria".

He also said "the political process between the regime and the opposition should be finalised" to ensure peace in Syria while insisting that Ankara would "never allow terrorist activities against Turkey nor against Syrian civilians".

The flareup has also seen pro-Turkish rebel groups attacking government forces and Kurdish People's Defence Units (YPG) fighters in and around Aleppo, a Syrian war monitor said.

Turkey sees the YPG as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.