The Syrian government has announced the first case of the novel coronavirus in the war-torn country, days after starting measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The European Union's diplomatic chief on Friday welcomed a Russian-Turkish ceasefire in Syria as a sign of goodwill but urged access for humanitarian aid.

A ceasefire in northern Syria agreed between Russia and Turkey came into force on Friday, aiming to halt intense fighting that has sparked a humanitarian disaster and raised fears of their armies clashing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan began talks in Moscow on Thursday aimed at defusing the crisis in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

Fighting in northwest Syria has rendered large parts of the region uninhabitable for civilians now crammed into an ever-shrinking area where conditions are dire, says a report released Wednesday.

The EU dispatched its highest officials to Turkey and Greece on Tuesday amid concern over a fresh migrant crisis and allegations that Ankara was trying to "blackmail" the bloc by opening its borders to thousands of refugees seeking to flee to Europe.

Regime forces re-entered the northwestern Syrian town of Saraqeb on Monday after losing it days earlier to rebels, a monitor and state media said.

NATO's ruling council will meet Friday for urgent talks on the Syria crisis after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike blamed on Damascus.

Turkey on Friday called on the international community to establish a no-fly zone over the northwestern province of Idlib to protect civilians from Syrian regime bombardments a day after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said there was not yet a full accord between Russia, and European Union heavyweights France and Germany to hold a summit over the escalating violence in Syria's Idlib.