Russia has said it will not allow clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces, as Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria continues.
"This would simply be unacceptable... and therefore we will not allow it, of course," said Moscow's special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev.
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Russia is a key military ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces, which have been deployed in Syria since 2015, were patrolling along the "line of contact" between Syrian and Turkish forces.
During a visit to the United Arab Emirates, Mr Lavrentyev described Turkey's offensive as "unacceptable".
He said that under previous agreements Turkey can only go 5-10km (3-6 miles) into Syria - far less than the 30km "safe zone" Ankara is proposing - and that Turkey has no right to permanently deploy its troops in the country. Syria is in contact with Turkey to avoid a conflict, he said.
Mr Lavrentyev also confirmed that Russia had helped to broker a deal between Kurds and Damascus that saw Kurdish-led forces cede territory to Syrian government troops in return for military support.