Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
8SEPTEMBER 2011

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday, August 9 in marathon talks on the Syrian crisis and al-Assad’s policy toward the popular movement demanding freedom and change. In light of the angry comments made by both Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bülent Ar?nç and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an a few days before Davutoglu’s talks in Damascus, there was no doubt – locally, regionally and internationally – about the extreme importance of the visit.