Davutoglu and top diplomats discuss additional steps on Syria

A high level summit was held yesterday at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul with participation of foreign ministers of 14 countries ahead of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) to be organized today. Reportedly, the current situation in Syria and steps to be taken from now on in order to halt the violence in Syria were discussed during the meeting which was hosted by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as foreign ministers of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Tunis, Kuwait’s prime minister and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. The meeting which started at 21:00 yesterday was closed to the press. A joint statement which was issued following the summit said that additional steps to be taken for Syrian people and coordination of an effective and reliable transition process with regard to Syria were discussed. Besides, it was decided to establish a coordination council consisting of representatives of these 14 countries and hold its first meeting on June 15-16 in Istanbul.