Turkey Hints France to be Invited to Syria Summit despite Row

Turkish President Abdullah Gul indicated Thursday that France will be invited to the next meeting of the "Friends of Syria" to be held in Istanbul despite a slump in ties over a genocide bill.

A distinction must be made between bilateral relations and an international conference," Gul said on a visit to Tunisia, after a Turkish diplomat said Ankara had not decided whether to invite France to the conference.

Istanbul will host the second "Friends of Syria" conference, probably in late March, after the first meeting in Tunis on February 24.

The French parliament passed a law last year making denial that the Ottoman empire committed genocide against its Armenian population a criminal offence, infuriating Turkey.

France had already recognized the killings as a genocide, but the new law sought to go further by punishing anyone who denies this with up to a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($57,000).

The French Constitutional Council labeled the law "unconstitutional," but President Nicolas Sarkozy promptly ordered his government to draft a new bill.

Gul called for wide international participation at the Istanbul conference, "including Russia," an ally of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which along with China boycotted the Tunis meet.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his host, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, he said a preparatory meeting would be held in a couple of weeks.

Gul and Marzouki both said they were opposed to any foreign intervention in Syria and stressed the need for a political solution.

Marzouki predicted that "sooner or later the regime will fall," while Gul said, "No regime can stay in power by oppressing its people in this manner."

The Tunisian president has offered asylum to Assad if it helps to bring peace to Syria after nearly a year of violence.