Moscow considers unreasonable the possible Turkish operation on the territory of Syria and calls upon Ankara to resolve the issue peacefully, Russian Presidential Special Envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told journalists, RIA Novosti reported.

At the beginning of the "Astana" talks on Syria, he noted that its participants will discuss the situation "on the ground."

"This is especially important in light of the Turkish president's announced plans to conduct a military operation in northern Syria against Kurdish formations. We believe this would be an unwise step that could lead to destabilization of the situation, escalation of tension and a new round of armed confrontation in this country," Lavrentyev said.

According to him, Moscow intends to call on Ankara to abandon this step and try to solve the issues troubling Turkey in a peaceful way.

"For our part, we are ready to provide all kinds of support in this," the special envoy added.

Lavrentyev noted that in light of a possible operation at the "Astana" talks, a discussion of the refugee issue is also planned.

On 15-16 June, high-level negotiations of the guarantor countries (Russia, Turkey and Iran) of the "Astana" process for settlement in Syria with participation of representatives of the Syrian government and opposition as well as the UN are held in Kazakhstan.