Davutoglu: "Ankara and damascus are planning strategic cooperation"

Turkey and Syria plan to initiate a strategic cooperation mechanism similar to the one between Turkey and Iraq, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday. Davutoglu, after accompanying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on an official one-day visit to Syria this week, left Istanbul for an official visit to Belgrade, Serbia. Ankara has been planning to establish a joint mechanism with Damascus similar to the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Ankara and Baghdad, Davutoglu told reporters. A joint meeting of the Turkish and Iraqi cabinets is slated for this fall in Baghdad as part of that cooperation mechanism. The coordination necessary to create a similar mechanism with Syria will be laid down by Davutoglu and his Syrian counterpart in the coming days, and Davutoglu says they will work for its quick implementation. Earlier this week, Davutoglu said Turkey also wants to improve cooperation between Turkey and Iraq through various mechanisms, and so offer a model for other countries in the region. Meanwhile, Davutoglu said a number of issues related to the Middle East, including the prospects for restarting indirect talks between Israel and Syria, were discussed during Erdogan's meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Wednesday, adding that Turkey's contacts on the issue would continue. In Aleppo, Erdogan said Turkey was prepared to resume mediating the Arab-Israeli conflict. Erdogan last year helped mediate indirect peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, but Syria suspended them in December over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.