Kofi Annan, the United Nations-Arab League special envoy to Syria, is expected to visit Turkey soon, Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website Thursday.

Annan, who was appointed as special envoy in February, told Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu via a phone conversation that he would like to visit Turkey as part of his tour of regional countries, the newspaper quoted foreign ministry officials as saying.

The former UN chief wants to visit Turkey after he has completed his key talks in Damascus on Saturday, Turkish private news agency ANKA reported.

Annan, who is in Cairo for talks with the Arab League and Egyptian officials, said on Thursday that he will urge the Syrian government and the opposition to halt violence and seek a political settlement after a year of conflict, according to Today' s Zaman.

Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has repeatedly called on Damascus to stop violence against civilians and imposed on Syria a series of sanctions including an arms embargo in a protest against its government's alleged crackdown on opposing forces.