Davutoglu meets with Kerry in Istanbul

A meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Group of Friends of Syria took place in Istanbul on Saturday. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, foreign ministers and high level officials from 11 countries as well as representatives from the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces attended the meeting. Following the meeting, Davutoglu, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman and Chairman of the Syrian National Coalition Moaz al-Khatib held a press conference. Speaking at the press conference, Davutoglu said that two documents were distributed to press members. "One of the documents is a declaration issued by the Syrian National Coalition on the future of Syria. In this declaration, the Syrian National Coalition put forward their vision for the future of Syria. They have drawn a vision in which all Syrians are equal. The second document is a joint statement made by the 11 countries who have attended Saturday's meeting in Istanbul. In this document, you can see that the 11 countries came together with a joint position. You can see the details in the document. What is crucial is for the 11 countries to extend clear support to the Syrian National Coalition and display a political will to make all necessary works to end the massacres in Syria," Davutoglu noted. Stating that the international community calls on both sides in Syria to reach a political solution as set forth by the Geneva Agreement, Davutoglu said, "There is no place for those who have taken roles in the massacres of Syria in a political solution. We prefer a political transition process which is accepted by the Syrian people. As the 11 countries, we are determined to work together against political risks which may come up due to a delay in the political process. We have an agreement to make sure the risks do not hurt the Syrian people further and regional stability does not get placed under jeopardy." For his part, Kerry said, "Our international partners share the view that we should have a peaceful transition in Syria. We support an orderly transition. The US is committed to a pluralistic, unified post-Assad Syria." Kerry also said he told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Istanbul to delay his planned visit to Gaza to because of the "critical timing," but added that it was Erdogan's decision to make or postpone the visit. "We have expressed to [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] that we really think that [the visit] would be better delayed and shouldn't take place at this point for many different reasons. Of course the prime minister will make his own decision on that," Kerry told reporters in Istanbul, adding that the issue would be further discussed during Erdogan's upcoming trip to Washington. Moaz al-Khatib said that they would establish justice during the transitional period, expressing expectation from Russia to have a positive stance on Syria and work to end bloodshed in Syria.