Syria's Assad to meet Erdogan for peace talks
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Damascus April 26, 2008.
Credit: Reuters/Khaled al-Hariri
ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashir al-Assad will hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at a Turkish beach resort on Tuesday to discuss regional peace efforts, a government source said.
Assad's visit to Bodrum on the Aegean coast comes a week after Israel and Syria wrapped up a fourth round of Turkish-mediated indirect talks in Istanbul without succeeding in moving on to face-to-face negotiations.
"Erdogan invited him and they have issues to discuss, such as peace talks," a government source, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
The next round of Israeli-Syrian indirect peace talks is expected in mid-August.
Turkish officials fear domestic political issues in Israel, where Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is due to step down shortly, will make it more difficult to move to direct talks.
Public statements also suggest the two sides remain divided on core issues such as Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights and Syria's ties to Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.
Erdogan will meet Assad at Bodrum airport before taking him to a luxury hotel for lunch, the state news agency Anatolian said.
Assad and Erdogan have met frequently and are known to have a friendly relationship. Trade ties have also grown between the two neighbours.
Next week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Istanbul for talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Gul and Erdogan have over the past few years sought to boost Turkey's role as a regional problem solver in the Middle East.
(Reporting by Paul de Bendern; editing by Toby Reynolds)
