ANKARA: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called on Syria leader Bashar al-Assad to urgently find a “political solution” to his country’s civil war.

Syria, which has a long border with Turkiye, has become a new focus of international concern since rebel forces last week took the second city of Aleppo from Assad’s troops.

“The Syrian regime must commit urgently with its people in favour of a global political solution,” Erdogan said in a call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, according to a statement released by the presidency.

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Erdogan, whose country has become home to about three million Syrian refugees since the war started in 2011, has held a number of discussions with other leaders on the crisis in recent days.

“Turkiye has been striving to reduce tensions, protect civilians and open a political process and will continue to do so,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in the statement.

Highlighting that the conflict has reached a “new stage”, Erdogan said “Turkiye’s biggest wish is that Syria does not become embroiled in bigger instability and see even more civilian victims.”

Erdogan was an outspoken critic of Assad for much of the war but has recently taken a more conciliatory line.