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World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad can play no part in a transitional government, but suggested that the Syrian opposition would do well to accept envoy Kofi Annan's internationally endorsed proposal.

“Our task is not to pressure the opposition or to convince them of something,” Davutoğlu told Sky News Arabia in Cairo, where Syrian opposition groups are meeting for the second day. He added that Annan's role as mediator means the opposition will not have to negotiate with Assad under the transition plan.

“Thus, I believe that accepting the Geneva statement would be a positive thing for the opposition,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by Sky News Arabia on Tuesday.