Turkish FM meets UN chief in New York

NEW YORK

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held face-to-face talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Friday.

According to diplomatic sources, Cavusoglu and Ban discussed the outcome of Friday's international talks on Syria, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and the Cyprus peace process.

Ban stressed on the importance of a political transition process on the path to achieving a political solution to the Syrian conflict, which has left more than 250,000 victims dead since 2011.

The third round of international talks on Syria was held at New York Palace Hotel on Friday and was followed by the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution, demanding UN-backed peace talks and cease-fire come into effect with a target start date in January.

During the Ban-Cavusoglu meeting, the UN chief commended Turkey's successful hosting of last month's G20 summit in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, sources said.

Ban also thanked Turkey for hosting the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit meeting in May in Istanbul, the first ever global humanitarian summit of this scale.