BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has met Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, in Ankara on his first official trip to the Muslim nation.

Kerry is also set to meet with the country’s president and prime minister. Talks are to focus on Syria’s civil war and bilateral interests, from energy security to counter-terrorism. But the discussions are likely to be marred by controversial comments by Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he described Zionism as a "crime against humanity."

Kerry said the comments complicated efforts to find peace in the Middle East. The Secretary of State indicated he had raised the comments "very directly" with Davutoglu, and would do the same when he saw Erdogan later.

(Source: CNTV.cn)