Turkey accuses Russia of attacks in northern Syria amid Kremlin's denial

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told Saudi Arabia's king that alleged attacks by Russia and the Syrian government in northern Syria were of an alarming nature, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

Speak by phone to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Tayyip said that the attacks, which were denied by the Kremlin, further aggravated the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The president also discussed with King the preparations for the forthcoming summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul as well as regional developments, said the agency, citing a presidential source.

The two leaders agreed to work together on ending attacks targeting opposition forces in Syria, urging the international community to act to secure access for humanitarian aid, said the report.

On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu identified the Russian airstrikes in Syria as "dishonorable," claiming the bombing does not target Islamic State (IS) group but opposition groups fighting against the Syrian regime.

On the same day, the Kremlin dismissed accusations of Russian air forces in Syria attacking hospitals, calling the allegation unacceptable and baseless.

"We categorically deny and do not accept such statements, especially because those who make such statements are unable to prove their allegations in any way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He asked reporters to rely on primary sources of information over such issues, noting that for the Russian side the primary source should be official representatives of the Syrian authorities.

In another development, Syrian ambassador to Moscow, Riad Haddad, on Monday accused the U.S. of destroying a hospital backed by the humanitarian group MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors without Borders) in Syria.

"American warplanes destroyed it (a hospital in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib). Russian warplanes had nothing to do with any of it -- the information that has been gathered will completely back that up," Haddad told TV channel Russia 24.

Turkish authorities as well as Western countries have been blaming Russia for bombing civilian targets.

Moscow denies such allegations and insisted that all Russian airstrikes in Syria are carried out after repeated verification of reconnaissance information and through coordinated actions. Endi