Turkey to host new Friends of Syria meeting

ANKARA - Agence France-Presse

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) confers with United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan at the first "Friends of Syria" conference in Tunis on February 24, 2012. APF Photo.

Turkey said Tuesday it will host a second "Friends of Syria" conference in Istanbul on April 2 in an attempt to pressure the Damascus regime to halt its year-long crackdown on opponents.

The announcement was made to the Turkish parliament by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called on the international community and international organisations to "take sincere steps" for Syria where he said the "honour of mankind is being trampled".

The Istanbul meeting will follow a first "Friends of Syria" conference in Tunis on February 24 which was attended by leading officials from Western and Arab countries.