Hizballah violations jeopardising Syria peace deal: Turkey FM

Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Hizballah was principally responsible for routinely breaking the ceasefire and jeopardising upcoming peace negotiations in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

"If we cannot stop the increasing violations, the Astana process could fail," Cavusoglu said.

"When we look at who commits these violations, it is Hizballah, in particular Shia groups and the regime."

In his interview, the foreign minister also commented on a "confidence crisis" with the United States for failing to provide air support to Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkey's military operations against Islamic State.

"If you are not supporting us in the most significant operation, then why are you based at the Incirlik Airbase?" he said, referring to the US air force presence in south Turkey.

Cavusoglu added that the US was an "important ally" of Turkey, with co-operation between the two countries "in almost every field".