Ankara is ready to accept a political transition in Syria in which President Bashar Assad remains in symbolic power for six months before leaving office, a senior diplomat told a group of journalists on Monday. "Work on a plan for Assad's departure is underway ... [Assad] can stay for six months and we accept that because there will be a guarantee of his departure," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We have moved forward on the issue to a certain degree with the United States and our other allies. There is not an exact consensus on when the six month period would begin, but we think it won't be too long." Ankara has long maintained that removing Assad is critical to solving the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Turkey is home to the world's largest refugee population with more than 2.2 million.