Turkey originally intended to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators in 2011.

However, after supporting various insurgent groups, Ankara later focussed more on preventing Kurdish forces from controlling areas in northern Syria.

The leader of the Syrian National Coalition, Hadi Al Bahra; of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, Bader Jamous; and of the Syrian interim government Abdurrahman Mustafa all met Fidan.

They discussed current developments in the Syria conflict and Turkey's support "for meaningful and realistic dialogue and negotiation" towards a UN-backed political solution, said a foreign ministry statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long signalled that he might reconsider his relationship with Assad.

In a gesture of reconciliation towards Damascus, Erdogan said in early July he could invite Assad to Turkey "at any time".

Turkey hosts some 3.2 million Syrian refugees out of a population of 85 million, according to UN figures.

Their future regularly comes up in Turkish political debate, with some opponents of Erdogan promising to send them back to Syria.