Erdogan and Obama discuss Gezi incidents over phone

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Barack Obama held a phone conversation on Monday evening and discussed the Syria crisis and Gezi Park incidents. "The President and Prime Minister discussed developments in Syria, including the regime's use of chemical against its own people, their shared commitment to pursuing a political solution, the need to provide additional support to the Syrian Coalition and the Supreme Military Council to improve their effectiveness, and the importance of close bilateral cooperation on contingency planning and counterterrorism efforts," said Turkish Prime Ministry in a statement. Reportedly, Syria and the Second Geneva Conference were also discussed. Also touching on Gezi Park protests, Erdogan described the situation in Turkey and the two leaders discussed the importance of nonviolence and of the rights to free expression and assembly and a free press, the statement said.