Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met with U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday.

In a written statement, the ministry said Akar and Jeffrey discussed issues of regional security with a special focus on Syria.

Notably, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara David Satterfield and Turkey's Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu were present at the meeting.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.