Turkey PM set to visit Saudi Arabia for Syria talks

ANKARA - Agence France- Presse

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Saudi Arabia on Friday for talks on the crisis in Syria, according to the Anatolia news agency.

"I will visit Saudi Arabia. God willing, I'll be there on Friday," Erdoğan was quoted as saying by the agency while on an official visit to China.

He emphasized that the year-long unrest in Syria would figure high on the agenda of his talks with Saudi King Abdullah, hoping that positive results would emerge from Friday's contacts. Saudi Arabia has taken a strong stance against the escalating bloodshed in Syria where President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown has left more than 9,000 dead since the uprising erupted in mid-March last year.
 
Turkey has been at the forefront of international criticism against Damascus, and Erdoğan has called on his one-time ally Assad to quit.