President Mohamed Morsy met Turkish leader Abdullah Gul and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday to discuss Syria's ongoing civil war, according to presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali.
The three heads of state met on the sidelines of Organization of the Islamic Cooperation Summit, which ended in Wednesday in Cairo.
At a press conference, Ali said, “Egypt's position is still the same toward the Syrian issue, which is to stop the bloodshed and enable Syrians to manage their country without outside interference.”
“The reconstruction of Syria,” he noted, “requires great effort from the international community, as a result of the destruction that has [affected] Syria in this bloody conflict, when the Syrian regime, headed by Bashar al-Assad, held to power in the presence of people eager for change.”
Ali said Saudi Arabia is still in talks to participate in the quartet initiative initiated by Morsy to resolve the Syrian crisis, adding that Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz left the summit after lunch due to private matters.
In related news, Gul is set to begin his official visit in Cairo Thursday, during which he will hold bilateral talks with Morsy at the Presidential Palace.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
