U.S. ambassador holds talks at Turkish prime ministry

ANKARA (A.A) - August 8, 2011 - The U.S. ambassador to Turkey held talks with chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the prime ministry in Ankara on Monday.
Officials with the U.S. Embassy said that Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone met Ibrahim Kalın, chief advisor to Prime Minister Erdogan, within the scope of the ongoing consultations on Syria. Kalin and Ricciardone also discussed regional issues in their meeting.
U.S. Department of State deputy spokesman Mark Toner earlier said that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on the phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, discussing the ongoing violence and security operations in Syria. Toner said Clinton discussed the US position that Syria must immediately return its military to barracks and release all prisoners of concern and asked Davutoglu to "reinforce these messages" with the Syrian government.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Kalin, Ricciardone said they made an "overall assessment about latest developments." Asked whether the meeting was related to the telephone conversation between Clinton and Davutoglu, the ambassador said it was a "follow-up" to it.