Erdoğan, Ahmadinejad seek to bridge widening gap over Syria.

Erdoğan, Ahmadinejad seek to bridge widening gap over Syria.(HD).Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a surprise meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday as the two neighbors find themselves increasingly at odds over the civil war in Syria.Prime Minister Erdoğan has said Turkey and Iran have agreed to form a new channel between their foreign ministries to intensify dialogue and cooperation to end the bloodshed in Syria, with Turkey offering Iran to build a trilateral mechanism to grapple with the worsening Syrian crisis. “We have agreed to bolster communication at the level of the foreign ministries to bridge differences over the unfolding Syrian conflict. The constant deliberation and communication would help to reduce differences,” Erdoğan said in a press conference after returning from Azerbaijan late on Tuesday.
He stressed that Syria was the primary topic during his meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad that took place on the sidelines of a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Baku that ended on Tuesday.
He said Turkey had offered Iran to build a trilateral mechanism including key regional actors to adequately handle the Syrian conflict. “The mechanism could be made up of Turkey, Iran and Egypt or it could include Turkey, Iran and Russia. Furthermore, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could also form the trilateral mechanism as another scenario,” he said, disclosing the nature of the Turkish offer to Iran on different options of building a new regional body to address the ongoing Syrian conflict.
He pointed out that Saudi Arabia is uneasy with appearing on the same platform as Iran and that it does not want to take part in negotiations with the country. It could, however, take part in a new mechanism with Turkey and Egypt.
Erdoğan said Ahmadinejad had positively reacted to a call by joint UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, who has sought Iranian help to achieve a cease-fire in Syria during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Erdoğan signaled that both Turkey and Iran would deliver statements at the same time, calling on both sides in Syria to implement a cease-fire during the holiday. He also said it would be more effective if countries that have influence when it comes to shaping events in Syria, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, also call on the sides to declare a cease-fire.Read the full story here.