Turkey & Syria Key Countries For Peace, Security And Stability, Erdogan Says

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Turkey and Syria were key countries "for peace, security and stability in eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East".
Speaking to reporters prior to his departure from Ankara's Esenboga International Airport for Syria, Erdogan said that he would pay a one-day trip to Syria.
On Monday, we will have a chance to discuss bilateral relations as well as the meeting of the High Level Strategic Council last Sunday, Erdogan said.
The quadripartite works we have begun with Syria, Jordan and Lebanon continue with determination. There are positive developments in the region regarding the process. During our government, economic, commercial and cultural relations with Syria gained new momentum and we will continue such relations with the same determination in the future, Erdogan said.
Turkey and Syria have a special place in the peace process of the Middle East. There are regional issues that are of interest to both Turkey and Syria such as Iraq and Lebanon. Turkey and Syria are key countries for peace, security and stability in eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Erdogan also said.
TURKISH PREMIER BELIEVES SYRIAN LEADER TO MAINTAIN HIS DETERMINATION ABOUT RETURN OF TERRORISTS
Turkey's prime minister said on Monday he believed that the Syrian president would maintain his determination regarding return of members of the terrorist organization who were Syrian citizens.
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had showed determination about the return of members of the terrorist organization who were Syrian citizens.
"I believe al-Assad would show the same determination in coming days," Erdogan told reporters before he left for Syria.
Erdogan said he also debated fight against terrorism with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the weekend, and efforts were under way to minimize the external support to the terrorist organization.
Commenting on efforts to form a new government in Iraq, Erdogan said this was Iraq's domestic affair.
"We will try to help if they ask us to," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said the failure in establishment of a new government in Iraq and continuation of uncertainties made not only Iraqi people but also surrounding countries uneasy.
Turkey was in close cooperation with the groups in Iraq and their leaders as it was a country sharing agonies and happiness of Iraq, Erdogan said.
Erdogan also said Turkey wished that a national compromise government would be established in Iraq, and Iraq would then overcome all its problems.
During his visit, Erdogan will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discuss bilateral relations, and current regional as well as international developments with Syrian officials.