France, Turkey to discuss methods to achieve peace in Syria

France and Turkey will discuss the parameters and progress in setting up a “Contact Group” to spur peace efforts in Syria and streamline ongoing processes in this area, an official source said Wednesday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Paris on Thursday for talks that “will focus on international issues,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The aim is “to achieve a political solution to the Syrian conflict” and the various initiatives for this will be high on the agenda for the discussions on ending the conflict in Syria “notably through the establishment of an international contact group,” it added.
France initially proposed setting up a Contact Group at the UN General Assembly last month and there is broad backing for this idea to be fleshed out and for “parameters” to be agreed on how to move forward.
France considers that the core members of the group should be the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, adding in other nations with relevance to the conflict.
France considers Turkey to be “a key partner” in addressing the regional and international issues at hand, the statement indicated.