Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki attended Sunday the second "Friends of Syria" meeting in Istanbul.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the summit, which brought together representatives from over 80 countries and international organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

The gathering sent a strong message of solidarity with and support of Syrian people, demanding from the authorities to immediately put an end to violence and start a peaceful transition in the country.

Addressing the meeting, Poposki underlined that Macedonia, as a responsible member of the international community, strongly supported the efforts of the United Nations and Arab League for peaceful resolution of Syria's crisis. He also supported the six-point peace plan, drawn up by Kofi Annan, and called on Syrian authorities to promptly implement it and end the violence.

A political settlement of the crisis and democratic transition is in the interest of Syrian people, as well as of the regional stability and global security, Poposki said.

At the event's sidelines, Poposki held talks with representatives from other countries, including his Romanian counterpart Cristian Diaconescu. They shared opinions of the bilateral political, economic relations and Macedonia's European, Euro-Atlantic integration processes, the press release reads.

Poposki referred to the pace of Macedonia's reform process and the launch of the country's high level dialogue with the EU. Diaconescu extended Romania's support of Macedonia's accession to NATO and EU.