Turkish Foreign Minister to Attend Friends of Syria Meeting in London on Sept. 7

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will take part in a meeting of the Friends of Syria group on September 7 in London, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

"Our minister will attend the meeting devoted to Syria being held by British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson on September 7," the statement reads.

The conference looks to bring together Western and Arab states that are in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad resigning. Other than Turkey, representatives of the European Union, France, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States are due to attend the meeting.

Riyad Hijab, general coordinator of the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), is expected to present a new settlement plan for Syria at the conference, which excludes Assad’s participation in the process.

According to earlier media reports, the plan provides for the establishment of a transitional authority, which would govern the country for 18 months after Assad’s removal from power. The plan also envisages the formation of a military council under the auspices of the transitional authority and with the participation of armed groups and representatives of the Syrian army, "whose hands are not stained with blood." The transitional authority will be allowed to seek military assistance from the international community in order to deal with their adversaries in Syria.

The settlement plan also includes the adoption of a UN resolution that bans any military operations in Syria, except for those associated with the fight against terrorists and religious extremists designated as such by the international body. In addition, Syrian HNC opposition members are seeking to guarantee the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurds within a single state framework.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups — the Riyadh-formed HNC, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups — have been taking part in UN-mediated Geneva talks on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.