Davutoglu and Russian counterpart meet in Istanbul

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who was in Istanbul to attend the third Turkey-Russia High Level Cooperation Council. During the meeting, Davutoglu and Lavrov discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Caucasian issues, and exchanged views about Syria. Stating that a transition period in Syria was not important for Turkey, but the important thing was the nature of a transition period, which should be without Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Making reference to the Geneva process initiated under the leadership by Russia, Lavrov said that they should adhere to that. In return, Davutoglu said that the term "transition process" was involved in the Geneva process. During the meeting, Davutoglu also briefed Lavrov on results of a meeting held by the Syrian opposition in Doha.