U.S. leader, Turkish PM discuss Syria crisisJuly 31, 2012 - 15:57 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed how they could work together to speed up political transition in Syria during a telephone call, Erdogan's office said, according to Reuters. Erdogan, who once enjoyed close ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has become one of his fiercest critics and has demanded he step down in the face of a 16-month-old uprising in which thousands of civilians have died. "In the talks, they took up the co-ordination of efforts to accelerate the process of political transition in Syria, including Bashar al-Assad leaving the administration and the meeting of the Syrian people's legitimate demands," a statement from Erdogan's office said. The phone call took place on Monday, July 30 and Turkish media reports said Erdogan and Obama spoke for 36 minutes. "The two leaders expressed their growing concern about the worsening human conditions in Syria because of the Syrian regime's attacks targeting its own people and the regime's savagery, most recently seen in Aleppo," it said. Obama and Erdogan also discussed the need to work together to assist civilians trying to escape the violence in Syria. There are about 44,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey and there are concerns that the offensive by Assad's army in the northern city of Aleppo could lead to increasing numbers. "Prime Minister Erdogan and President Obama agreed on the co-ordination of efforts to help Syrians forced to flee to Turkey and neighboring countries," the statement said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |