Turkey plans international conference on Syria

"We are determined to establish a broad-based forum to promote international understanding with all countries concerned" with developments in Syria, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a televised interview.

The conference could take place in Turkey or in another country but it must certainly be "in the region" and "as soon as possible", he added.

Turkey has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to draw up a "new roadmap" on Syria, where rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of a revolt last March, Davutoglu said.

He was speaking shortly before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked on the telephone with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country voted down a UN resolution seeking to end the months-long bloodshed.

During the exchange, Medvedev urged "the necessity of continuing -- including at the UN Security Council -- a search for coordinated approaches to help the Syrians regulate the crisis themselves," the Kremlin announced.

Erdogan's press office said the prime minister had expressed his "stupefaction and concern" at the Russian veto, and stressed the need for Ankara and Moscow to work together to restore peace and stability in Syria.

The two leaders agreed their respective foreign ministers should meet for talks on the matter, a statement said.

Erdogan on Tuesday heralded Turkey's new moves, saying Russian and Chinese vetoes of the UN resolution at the weekend had given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "licence to kill."

"We will start a new initiative with those countries who stand by the Syrian people, not the regime," Erdogan had said, vowing his government would use all diplomatic means to draw the world's attention to neighbouring Syria.

The details of the Turkish-led effort are not yet clear but the pro-government Sabah daily reported that Ankara was planning a "friends of Syria" meeting as a first step, in cooperation with the Arab League.

In the next stage, it would hold a conference in Istanbul involving members of the UN Security Council, the European Union and Arab states, said the daily.

Turkish diplomatic sources declined to comment on the report.

Analysts said Ankara's plan can succeed only with Russia on board, given that Moscow is a key ally of the Syrian regime and its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met Assad for talks in Damascus on Tuesday.

"If a formula can be found to meet Russia's expectations as a result of this initiative, the Turkish plan is likely to survive," Ilter Turan, political science professor at Istanbul's Bilgi University, told AFP.

"Otherwise, Russia's relations with Turkey as well as with the Arab world will be harmed," because of the Syrian crisis, he added.

Davutoglu said Wednesday his country would not allow the continuing bloodshed in Syria and the region to be dragged into instability.

"We hope that Syria, which is at the centre of the Middle East, will not be like North Korea," he said.

However he ruled out military intervention in Syria.

Davutoglu was heading for the United States later in the day for a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for further discussions on the Syrian crisis.

He will also meet US National Security Advisor Thomas Danilon before returning to Turkey on Sunday, said a foreign ministry statement.

Turkey, which has a 910-kilometre border (560 mile) with Syria, has been at the forefront of international criticism of Damascus, and has become a haven for opposition activists.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012