Clinton arrives in Turkey for key Syria talks

ISTANBUL (AFP) - United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived on Saturday in Istanbul for talks on the conflict in Syria with Turkish leaders after Washington slapped fresh sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's regime and its allies.

Mrs Clinton flew in after wrapping up a nine-nation Africa tour.

The visit comes after Washington on Friday announced sanctions on Syrian state oil company Sytrol for trading with Iran, in a bid to starve the regimes in both Teheran and Damascus of much-needed revenue.

The US Treasury also said it was adding the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, which has close ties with Iran and Syria, to a blacklist of organisations targeted under Syria-related sanctions.