Turkish FM to meet US Secretary of State Kerry first in Italy

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. AA photo

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu are expected to have their first encounter on the sidelines of a meeting on Syria in Italy.

Davutoğlu and Kerry are likely to meet on the sidelines of the core group meeting of the “Friends of Syria” on Feb. 27, according to diplomatic sources.

The U.S. secretary of state will pay a visit to Turkey on March 1, as part of a regional tour including Israel, Egypt and Italy.

Earlier this month Davutoğlu had confirmed that the recently appointed U.S. secretary of state would make one of his first foreign visits to Turkey, but both Turkish and U.S. officials had declined to mention an exact date.

“In our phone conversation, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry said he wanted to visit Turkey at the first opportunity. The visit is certain, but our teams are working on the exact date for it,” Davutoğlu had said at the time.

Kerry said last week that he planned to use his first foreign trip to advance new ideas about how to persuade President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to yield power and agree to a political transition.