Turkish FM visits Ecumenical Patriarch

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu paid a visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul and met Patriarch Vartholomaios on Saturday.

This was the first time ever that the head of Turkish diplomacy has visited the seat of the head of the Christian Orthodox Church and got an audience with the Ecumenical Patriarch.

“What the world, and especially this region, need more than everything is harmony, the will for cohabitation and the mutual trust among religious and national groups,” said Davutoglu, adding that “there are certain worrying developments in the Middle East.”

Davutoglu’s statement raises questions as to what may be the issues of international interest that Ankara wishes to discuss with the Patriarch as well as with other non-Muslim leaders.

For the time being the only issue that is burning in the Middle East, that also involves non-Muslim communities, is that of Syria, observers note.