Merkel and Macron call for a 'co-ordinated' European position on selling arms to Saudi Arabia in a summit with Putin and Erdogan after Jamal Khashoggi's murder

  • French and German leaders have so far disagreed on whether to halt arms sales 
  • Merkel has suspended them but Macron labelled such a move 'demagoguery'  
  • Two leaders gathered with President Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have called for a 'co-ordinated' European position on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. 

The French and German leaders have so far taken contrary positions, with Berlin halting weapons deals with the Gulf kingdom while Macron dismissed such moves as 'demagoguery'.  

The two leaders gathered with Turkish President Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Istanbul today as they look to bring an end to Syria's civil war. 

Erdogan is hosting the three leaders at the Vahdettin Mansion in the city where Khashoggi was killed on October 2.

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have called for a 'co-ordinated' European position on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have called for a 'co-ordinated' European position on arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi

From left: Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk in the garden of the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul on Saturday 

From left: Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk in the garden of the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul on Saturday 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul ahead of a summit with the French and Russian leaders to discuss the conflict in Syria 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul ahead of a summit with the French and Russian leaders to discuss the conflict in Syria 

The summit comes in the shadow of the Khashoggi crisis which has engulfed the Middle East since the journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate.

Erdogan is expected to discuss the Khashoggi affair in one-on-one talks with leaders on the summit's sidelines.  

Merkel and Macron had a 'relaxed exchange', French officials said, and agreed not to announce their next positions on the issue without first coordinating 'at the European level'.

Macron had previously insisted there was no moral link to be made between Khashoggi's death and Saudi Arabia's purchase of French-made weapons.

'What is the link between arms sales and Mr. Khashoggi?' he said. 

The summit also follows months of tensions between Moscow and the West over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Britain and an attempted cyber-attack on a Dutch lab.

In addition Merkel and Erdogan have frequently clashed over the refugee crisis, democratic freedoms in Turkey and the millions of people of Turkish origin who live in Germany.  

On the Syrian issue, Russia supports the regime of President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey backs the rebels. 

More than 360,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict since 2011, including seven civilians killed by Syrian fire in Idlib yesterday.

Idlib in northern Syria is the last major rebel-held bastion and a fragile ceasefire was reached last month when Russia and Turkey agreed a buffer zone around the area. 

But violence in the area has escalated in the lead-up to the summit, amid fears of a government onslaught which could spark a fresh wave of refugees fleeing to Turkey. 

Turkey and Russia have held previous talks with Iran on the Syrian conflict, in efforts that have often been greeted with suspicion in the West. 

From left: Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin in Istanbul today as they look to bring an end to Syria's civil war

From left: Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin in Istanbul today as they look to bring an end to Syria's civil war

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at Ataturk International Airport ahead of the 'Four-way Istanbul summit on Syria' with Merkel, Erdogan and Vladimir Putin 

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at Ataturk International Airport ahead of the 'Four-way Istanbul summit on Syria' with Merkel, Erdogan and Vladimir Putin 

Merkel and Putin shake hands at the Istanbul summit, which also follows months of tensions between Moscow and the West over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Britain

Merkel and Putin shake hands at the Istanbul summit, which also follows months of tensions between Moscow and the West over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Britain

But Saturday's summit will be the first to include the European Union's two most significant national leaders.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Friday that the primary goal would be to 'clarify the steps to be taken for a political solution and to determine a roadmap'. 

The steps could include a a commission to create Syria's post-war constitution, seen as a stepping stone to staging elections in the war-torn country. 

A United Nations plan for a committee to draft a new constitution ran aground this week after Damascus blocked the proposal, provoking anger among western powers.

The Istanbul talks will also discuss extending the ceasefire around Idlib, where aid groups have warned that a military offensive could spark one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the seven-year war.

Moscow and Ankara agreed a buffer zone as Turkey sought to avoid an attack leading to a further influx of people across its border. 

Vladimir Putin arrives in Istanbul to attend the summit on the Syrian conflict. Russia supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey backs the rebels

Vladimir Putin arrives in Istanbul to attend the summit on the Syrian conflict. Russia supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey backs the rebels

Emmanuel Macron
Angela Merkel

Emmanuel Macron (left) and Angela Merkel (right) get off their respective planes as they arrive in Istanbul on Saturday. They have taken different approaches towards Saudi Arabia 

Syria's opposition, which has previously described Russia's military intervention in 2015 as an occupation, on Friday said it welcomed dialogue with Moscow. 

The comments readiness for more concessions following the Assad regime's battlefield successes.

The Elysee palace said there were 'modest expectations' and Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov urging all sides to be 'realistic'.  

Meanwhile German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that 'reconstruction to the profit of the dictatorship of Assad is not conceivable'.

'There will be only investment into Syria if there is a satisfying political process that includes all parties,' she told a security conference in Bahrain on Saturday.

At the same conference, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Russia is no replacement for the United States.

'Russia's presence in the region cannot replace the longstanding, enduring, and transparent US commitment to the Middle East,' Mattis said. 

The leaders of Russia, France and Germany arrived in Istanbul on Saturday for a four-

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.