27 Aug 2012

Regional meeting sought over Syria crisis

5:12 am on 27 August 2012

Egypt wants Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Egypt to meet for talks to work out how to end the Syrian crisis.

Iran backs President Bashar al-Assad whose troops have been fighting rebels for 17 months.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have all called for an end to Mr Assad's rule.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has held discussions by telephone on the possibility of holding a meeting, but the ministry did not say on Sunday when any such meeting would take place.

President Mohamed Mursi put forward a plan for talks at an Islamic conference in Saudi Arabia this month.

This week, he travels to China and then to Iran for a meeting of developing nations. Egypt is currently chair of the non-aligned movement.

Mr Mursi's trip to Iran will be the first by an Egyptian president since the Iranian revolution in 1979.