Erdogan wants to meet with Syria's Assad over ties

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he had asked to meet Syria's Bashar Assad on the sidelines of UN talks in New York next week to normalise ties.

Turkey and Syria severed diplomatic relations in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian war — but Erdogan, who then supported rebel efforts to topple all-powerful President Assad, has sought rapprochement with Damascus in recent months.

"We are now waiting for the other party's response," Erdogan told reporters before flying out to the United Nations General Assembly where he is due to speak on Monday.

The conflict in Gaza has exacerbated Turkey's fears that fighting might escalate to the broader region.

Erdogan said "Gaza would be at the centre" of his talks in New York, vowing that "Turkey wants to play a role in putting an end to the atrocities committed in Gaza".

Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have followed sabotage attacks on pagers and two-way radios used by Lebanese, Iran-backed Hizbollah earlier this week, which killed 39 people. Hizbollah blamed Israel, which has not commented.

"The recent attacks led by Israel against Lebanon have justified Turkey's concerns about the risks of an extended conflict," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey would do what it could "against the storm of deaths that global Zionism is unleashing in the Middle East".

Erdogan also called on Western nations and the international community to "stop watching the murders committed by Israel and take deterrent measures", without specifying further.

Turkish forces and Turkey-backed rebel factions control swathes of northern Syria and Turkey has taken in 3.2 million refugees from the war-torn country, according to UN data.

The Syrian conflict, which began after the repression of anti-government protests in 2011, has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.