Russia said Thursday it regretted the suspension of Syrian peace talks and expressed hope the negotiations could continue.

Russia said Thursday it regretted the suspension of Syrian peace talks and expressed hope the negotiations could continue.

"One can express regret in this regard but no one expected that everything will be simple and quick," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He said that the Kremlin hoped that it would "soon" become clear when and how the talks would resume.

It is unlikely that someone expected immediate results from the first round. This would probably be short-sighted," Peskov said.

"Of course it is obvious that moving forward will be difficult and we are hoping that the break will be followed by another round of these truly difficult talks."

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday the suspension of peace talks to end the Syrian crisis as government forces are emerging victorious in the battlefield against Takfiri insurgents in several fronts across Syria.

The United States and France condemned the Russian airstrikes which are offering air cover to the government forces against terrorists.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that air strikes would continue until "terrorist organizations" including the ISIL group (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant) in Syria are defeated.

Russia's defense ministry said earlier that a military adviser had been killed in Syria by ISIL shelling.

Peskov confirmed his death but said the Kremlin would not disclose his name.