"It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a joint press conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

The recent flareup which saw Damascus losing swathes of territory in northwestern Syria, including Aleppo, during a lightning offensive by militants, was due to the regime's failure to engage in dialogue with "opposition groups," he said.

"The lack of talks between the regime and the opposition has brought the problem to this point," he said, describing it as "a mistake to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition".

"Damascus must reconcile with its own people and the legitimate opposition," he added.

Turkey is already hosting some 3.2 million Syrian refugees, according to UN data.

"We do not want an escalation of the civil war," he said, echoing remarks made in a phonecall with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday in which he said Turkey would support moves "to reduce tension" in Syria.

Turkish troops and the Turkey-backed militants factions control much of northern Syria, and Ankara is concerned that the recent outbreak of fighting could swell the flow of people fleeing across the border.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad on Monday branded the Islamist militant group offensive as a bid to redraw the map of the region in line with US interests in a phonecall with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

"The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West," Assad said in a statement from his office.

Both Iran and Russia, which have backed Assad since Syria's civil war broke out in 2011, have said they will help Damascus fight back after losing Aleppo, with Tehran confirming it would keep its military advisers in Syria.

* This story was edited by Ahram Online.