US diplomat Nuland set for talks in Ankara

ANKARA

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland. AP Photo

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland will have talks in Ankara on Oct. 20, sources have told Hürriyet Daily News.

She will have talks with Turkish officials on the efforts of the anti-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) coalition, the refugee crisis and other regional and bilateral issues, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department. 

“In the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Ankara, she will also underscore our solidarity in the face of the security threats Turkey faces,” read the statement. 

Nuland will travel to Turkey after joining U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Oct. 18-19 in the Spanish capital Madrid.

On the day after her talks in Turkey, she will travel to Athens, where she will meet with senior Greek government officials to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues, including economic reforms, the refugee crisis and energy diversification.

U.S. wants to avoid total destruction of Syria: Kerry

The United States is working to avoid the “total destruction” of Syria and plans to hold a meeting in the coming days with Russian, Saudi and Turkish leaders to seek an end to the conflict, Secretary of State John Kerry said Oct. 19.

Washington considers that it bears the responsibility “to try and avoid the complete and total destruction of Syria,” fearing the potential fallout across the region and a possible surge in migration, Kerry said during his stop in Madrid.

Kerry also said he would be meeting this week in Europe with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Russia to discuss the crisis in Syria and the need for a political transition to end the conflict.