ANKARA - Syrian President Bashir al-Assad held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at a Turkish beach resort on Tuesday to discuss regional peace efforts. "Erdogan invited him and they have issues to discuss, such as peace talks," a government source, told Reuters. The two leaders met for several hours.Erdogan welcomed Assad and his wife at Bodrum airport before taking them to a luxury hotel for lunch, ahead of a private meeting between the two leaders. Assad and Erdogan have met frequently and are known to have a friendly relationship. Trade ties have also grown between the two neighbours.
"Syria wants its presence to be felt in the region and its relations with Turkey seem to be one of the ways to do that. I don't think a serious result will come out of this meeting but it shows that the process continues at high level," Semih Idiz of the liberal Milliyet newspaper told a Turkish news programme.