UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against military victory in Syria, urging the warring sides to work to find peace settlement.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against military victory in Syria, urging the warring sides to work to find peace settlement.

Ban warned that the recent upsurge in fighting in northern Aleppo province risked derailing efforts by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura to convene a new round of peace talks on February 25.

"Rarely is the international community and this council presented with as stark a choice as the one it now has before it," Ban said in the report obtained by AFP on Thursday.

On the one hand, world powers can press ahead with agreements on humanitarian aid, work to de-escalate violence, fight terrorism and resume negotiations, he said.

"On the other, the Syrian parties and their supporters can continue to pursue the bankrupt logic of a military victory", he added.

That option has "already led to the deaths of over 250,000 Syrians, the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, and the creation of safe havens for terrorist organizations" such as the ISIL (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant) and Nusra Front, said Ban.

The warning came as Turkey pushed for a ground operation in Syria with its allies and Saudi Arabia said it was ready to send forces as part of the US-led coalition.