Turkey "ready" to work with Russia on Syria ceasefire

Turkey is "more than ready" to cooperate with Russia on re-establishing a ceasefire and addressing humanitarian issues in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Thursday.

Both countries restored diplomatic ties in August, almost a year after relations were strained when Ankara shot down a Russian fighter jet which was flying over Turkish air space.

"We have to try harder for a ceasefire and political resolution. If Russia is prepared to cooperate with us on the ceasefire and humanitarian aid, we are more than ready," Çavuşoğlu said.

His comments came after Moscow indicated cooperating with Turkey in Syria would be constructive.

Russia and the United States brokered a ceasefire between the Syrian regime and opposition forces on September 12. But it collapsed a week after coming into effect amid an exchange of accusations between Washington and Moscow.

The UN deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy called the two sides on Thursday to "resurrect" their cessation of hostilities agreement and "make it a reality once again."

Ramzy said around 600 wounded people need to be evacuated from regime-besieged areas in eastern Aleppo immediately, and a ceasefire is needed to do this.

The last ceasefire deal included improved humanitarian aid access to the besieged parts of Aleppo where up to 300,000 people are running out of vital supplies.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and over half the country displaced since the war began in March 2011.

Successive attempts to reach a political solution have failed. Washington had worked hard to negotiate a peace agreement with Moscow in talks which produced two ceasefires. Both proved short-lived.