SEOUL, March 25 (UPI) -- President Obama said the United States and Turkey are on the same page regarding the ongoing crises in Syria and Iran.
Obama met in Seoul Sunday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to discuss Erdogan's pending visit to Iran and international efforts to quell the violence in Syria.
Obama said he and Erdogan both favor a diplomatic approach to Iran and backed U.N. efforts to reach a settlement to the political turmoil in Syria.
"We are very much in agreement that there should be a process whereby a transition to a representative and legitimate government in Syria takes place," Obama told reporters.
Erdogan said Turkey shares a border with Syria and has been sheltering about 170,000 refugees fleeing the fighting.
"We cannot remain a spectator to these developments," he said through a translator. "I'm also very pleased to see that our views in general very much overlap on this subject."
Erdogan will visit Iran in the near future to discuss Tehran's role in the Syria crisis and other issues.
Obama said: "We also had the opportunity to discuss the issue of Iran and its nuclear program. I expressed to the prime minister once again that I believe there is a window of time to resolve this question diplomatically, but that window is closing."
