German foreign minister to Turkey for Syria talks: German embassy

ANKARA - Agence France-Presse

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. REUTERS Photo

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will visit Turkey on Saturday for a meeting focussing on the Syrian crisis, an embassy statement said.
 
Westerwelle will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul and "the main theme of the meeting will be the latest developments in the Syrian crisis," said a German embassy statement released on Friday.
 
The visit comes after Turkey scrambled jets to force a Syrian plane on its way from Moscow to Damascus to land inside Turkey on Wednesday.
 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the plane's cargo contained military equipment and ammunition for the Syrian regime, charges denied by Damascus.
 
Relations between onetime allies Ankara and Damascus have steadily deteriorated since an uprising against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad first erupted as peaceful protests in March 2011.
 
Tensions between the neighbours reached a new high last week when mortars fired from Syria killed five Turkish nationals inside a Turkish border village and Ankara began firing artillery into Syria in return.
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined other world leaders in calling for restraint after Turkish reprisals.