Turkish MFA denies reports that Sarkozy was not invited to Istanbul meeting for Syria

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

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Turkey will host the second gathering of the “Friends of Syria” group in Istanbul in March to discuss the current cituation in Syria, with the participation of foreign ministers representing the group's member countries. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials denied reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was deliberately not invited to the İstanbul meeting, pointing out that the gathering will take place at the level of foreign ministers.

Turkey has not ruled out inviting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe to the meeting, despite the political strain between two countries due to the French administration’s attempt to criminalize the act of denying the Armenian “genocide”.

“We will still consider inviting Juppe. We won’t rule it out, since this will not be a bilateral meeting, but a multi-party gathering,” diplomatic sources told Hürriyet Daily News.

The group's third meeting is planned to convene in France later, probably with the participation of heads of state, if the “Friends of Syria” group decides to do so at İstanbul meeting, the source added. Ankara has not decided if it will participate in the upcoming meeting, which will take place in France, he added.