GENEVA
Countries participating in a UN-hosted international meeting Saturday in Geneva have agreed over the establishment of a transitional government in Syria to end the violence as Turkish Foreign Ahmet Davutoglu said the agreement constituted "an important first step."
"The important thing is that how those points we have agreed upon will be implemented on the ground. There have been promises that went unfulfilled. Turkey will closely monitor whether they are reflected in the real life," Davutoglu told the Anadolu Agency after the meeting.
The meeting in Geneva brought together five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and foreign ministers of Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and European Union's top security and foreign policy representative Catherine Ashton to seek ways to stop bloodshed in Syria.
The agreement over a plan for establishing a transitional unity government that includes the opposition and other groups but one that would not exclude figures from of Assad regime to lead the country into writing of a new constitution and elections.
Davutoglu said the plan set forth on Saturday formulated "a more comprehensive perspective" that included free elections, plurality, free press and right to free demonstration, adding that the plan provided transition process for change in Syria.
"The Syrian regime tends to turn into an element of instability and threat not only for the Syrian people but also for the region. Decisive steps are needed to prevent that from happening," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu said Turkey would continue to support UN/Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan's efforts.
Davutoglu said a series of important meetings would be held in the coming days on Syria, adding that he was set to participate in a Arab League-hosted gathering next Monday in Cairo with Syrian opposition groups.
"There will be some important steps in Cairo to bring together the Syrian opposition groups again in an effective and inclusive unity," he said.
