ISTANBUL. – After having been appointed US Secretary of State, John Kerry paid his second trip to Turkey.

In Istanbul, Kerry met with Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan and FM Ahmet Davutoglu, Milliyet daily of Turkey reports. 

The main topics of discussion were the latest developments in Syria, the normalization of Turkey-Israel relations, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.    

During his joint news conference with Turkey’s FM, and responding to a query with respect to the recent initiative to settle the Kurdish issue, John Kerry noted that the US welcomes the respective steps being taken by the Turkish authorities, and hopes that this initiative will create a lasting peace.