Clinton to Meet Allies on Syria in Istanbul on Wednesday
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet her British, French, Turkish and some Arab counterparts Wednesday to "discuss the situation in Syria," a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Britain's foreign minister, William Hague, France's Laurent Fabius, Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu and several Arab ministers will be at the informal evening meeting in Istanbul on the 15-month-old crisis, the source said.
Clinton is expected to arrive Wednesday evening in Turkey, the last leg of a tour that took her to Scandinavia and the Caucasus, to attend a ministerial-level meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum on Thursday.
"As countries that will participate in the Counterterrorism Forum, we have decided that it would be appropriate to address the Syrian problem, to exchange our views on the issue," said the Turkish diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The meeting will focus on how to push international mediator Kofi Annan's peace plan forward, a British Foreign Office spokeswoman told Agence France Presse.
"The Houla massacre of a couple of weeks ago has added to the sense of urgency with the international community's concerns growing over the ongoing violence," she added.
"We're very skeptical that President (Bashar) al-Assad intends to end the violence without additional pressure being put on him."
On May 25, 108 people, including 49 children, were killed in central town of Houla, sparking outrage from nations including the U.S., Britain, France and Australia, which kicked out highest ranking Syrian diplomats in their countries in response.
Assad has denied accusations, saying his government had no role in the massacre, and shifted the blame on foreign-backed forces.
The Istanbul meeting came as China and Russia have called for a new international conference on Syria, where clashes between opposition activists and regime forces have claimed more than 13,500 lives, according to rights groups.
The goal would be to get all sides to implement Annan's peace plan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Despite Annan's plan for a halt on all fighting on April 12, violence in Syria continues and as many as 2,400 people have died since the U.N.-backed ceasefire was meant to take effect, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.