Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not hold contacts on Syria on Thursday, but they discussed the situation there earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, the German Chancellor told RTL and n-tv TV channels that she discussed with the Russian and Turkish presidents the situation in Syria, namely in Idlib Governorate.

In comment on this, Peskov said: "Probably, this was an earlier conversation." On Thursday, Putin only held a phone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. "Yesterday, there was no such conversation either," he added.

According to Peskov, Merkel spoke about her earlier conversation with Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Idlib is the only Syrian province still controlled by illegal armed groups. In 2017, a de-escalation zone was established in the region, where militants reluctant to lay down their arms can move together with their families.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 25 that militants were making preparations together with British intelligence services to stage a chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province and blame it on the Syrian government.