Erdogan speaks with British counterpart, French president by phone

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday held separate phone conversations with his British counterpart David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande. Turkish Prime Ministry sources said that Erdogan and the two foreign leaders discussed bilateral relations and international issues, primarily Syria. David Cameron phoned Erdogan and invited him to the Conference on Somalia to take place in London on Tuesday. Erdogan told Cameron he would not be able to attend the London conference and that he would send Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to the conference. Prime Minister Erdogan phoned French President Hollande and the two leaders discussed cooperation in the energy field, bilateral relations and the need to speed up Turkey's EU accession talks. Erdogan and Hollande both expressed pleasure over the progress made in bilateral relations and exchanged views on the issues of Syria and Mali.