Turkey plans to hold an international conference on Syria with regional players and world powers to increase pressure on Syria, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
“Countries that are concerned with the situation in Syria have to find a solution. We are determined to establish a broad-based forum,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in a televised interview Feb 8.
The conference should take place as soon as possible with “broad scale participation” of international actors, the minister said.
The conference could take place in Turkey or another country, but it must certainly be in a regional country, he added.
The minister said Turkey’s attempt came after a series of international efforts such as the United Nations Security Council resolution draft on Syria that failed by vetoes of Russia and China.
“We can’t leave Syria on its own destiny,” he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was expected to discuss the Syrian crisis with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a telephone call, Davutoğlu said. “And then we’ll create a new road map,” he added.
Davutoğlu was expected to fly to the United States late Feb 8 to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for further discussions on the Syrian crisis.
