Manama: Saudi King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold talks on the Syrian crisis on Friday, Saudi and Turkish media have said.
"I will visit Saudi Arabia, God willing. I will be there on Friday," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Anatolian news agency while on an official visit to China.
The unrest in Syria will figure high on the agenda of the talks between the two leaders, the news agency said, adding that Saudi Arabia has taken a strong stance against the escalating bloodshed in Syria and that Turkey has been at the forefront of international criticism against Damascus.
According to Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper, Erdogan will request King Abdullah to see to it that Arab countries take the lead in coordinated international measures against the Syrian government.
Saudi Arabia has condemned Syria's failure to comply with the peace plan negotiated by Kofi Annan, the envoy of the United Nations and Arab League, and not pulling its forces out of cities. "The non-compliance with the plan ... reveals the inflexibility of the Syrian regime and its disregard for commitments to Arab and international bodies," the Saudi cabinet said on Monday, the Saudi Gazette said.
