Syrian summit in London to include 'true opposition'

LONDON

Britain and Turkey on Tuesday agreed to ensure the Syrian opposition is fully represented at an upcoming London conference on the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his talks with British counterpart David Cameron underlined the strong relationship enjoyed by the two countries.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Davutoglu said: "We had a comprehensive discussion of regional issues, especially Syria. We shared our common concerns regarding political negotiations on Syria’s future that are due to begin in the coming days.

"We agreed that the delegation representing the Syrian opposition should not be watered down and must represent the true opposition."

Davutoglu said he would attend the Syrian donors’ conference due to take place on Feb. 4. It will see world leaders, NGOs and civil society groups discuss funding to help displaced people in Syria as well as neighboring countries dealing with 4.2 million Syrian refugees.

Turkey’s premier said his meeting with Cameron also covered business and economic affairs.

"We discussed how to plan raising the existing $15-16 billion trade volume between our two countries to $20 billion," he said.

"We also discussed humanitarian aid. [The Syrian town of] Madaya is under a huge siege and it is a crisis where unfortunately people are living in conditions where they are unable to find food or drink, where their children have come to resemble skeletons and a crisis, a great tragedy and shame of humanity has emerged.

"We expressed our common perspective on these matters as well."

The meeting came after Davutoglu met business leaders and investors at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg.

The prime minister, a former academic, also found a brief moment to browse a London book store.