Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to pay a state visit to Turkey on Tuesday for talks with Turkish leaders on several regional issues of mutual interest. In his two-day stay in Turkey, the Syrian leader will meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the CNN Turk news network said. During the meetings, they will mull over a set of issues, including Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, it added. The Syrian leader last visited Turkey four years ago, | 2003, for those keeping score at home |
a visit which paved the way for further cooperation between both countries. Al-Assad will be the first foreign leader to visit Gul since he took over as president of Turkey. |