- Title: TURKEY: Syrian general Tlas meets foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu
- Date: 26th July 2012
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (JULY 26, 2012) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, AHMET DAVUTOGLU, AND SYRIAN BRIGADIER GENERAL, MANAF TLAS, ENTERING ROOM DAVUTOGLU AND TLAS SHAKING HANDS AND LEAVING TLAS LEAVING FOREIGN MINISTRY RESIDENCE TLAS GETTING INTO CAR CAR CARRYING DEFECTED GENERAL LEAVING
- Embargoed: 10th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA6QB62T8KGWX2KBF9VEKFWIOXS
- Story Text: Brigadier General Manaf Tlas, one of the most senior defectors from President Bashar al-Assad's rule, travelled to Turkish capital of Ankara and met Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday (July 26).
Tlas, a former friend of Assad, attended a fast-breaking dinner that Muslims observe during the month of Ramadan with Minister Davutoglu.
Before flying to Ankara, Tlas said in a newspaper interview he would help unite Syria's fragmented opposition inside and outside the country to agree a roadmap for a transfer of power.
Tlas, a rare Sunni Muslim member of Assad's mostly Alawite inner circle and a senior officer in the Republican Guards, defected earlier this month.
Tlas, whose father Mustafa Tlas was Syria's defence minister for 32 years and confidante of Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, could play a role in any transition of power.
Assad is seeking to crush a 16-month-old revolt against his rule in which at least 17,000 people have been killed and which is now being fought out in the country's two main cities. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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