President Erdoğan meets UN secretary general in Turkey

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Feb. 11 discussed the fight against terrorism and the situation in Syria, according to a statement issued by the presidential spokesman. 

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın's statement came after Erdoğan met Guterres in Istanbul on Feb.11. 

Kalin said Guterres had thanked the Turkish government for its outstanding generosity in hosting millions of refugees from Syria and Iraq. 

During the meeting, Erdoğan and the secretary general discussed the situation in Syria and the ongoing diplomatic efforts towards ending the conflict.

Guterres emphasized that Turkey was “a key country” for a solution to the Syrian crisis, Kalın added. 

The UN also released an official statement to share details of the meeting. 

“The Secretary General was grateful that the Astana conference was held in support of the Geneva process.

The Secretary General underscored the need to fight terrorism and extremists in Syria but [added] that effort would not be successful without a political solution supported by the people of country,” the UN statement said. 

Feb.11 marked the last of a two-day visit for Guterres, his first in Turkey as head of the UN. He met Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Feb. 10.