Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's calls for talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad are a long shot but meant to send a message of reconciliation in a region increasingly distracted by war, the head of Syria's main opposition abroad said. Ankara, which long backed rebels seeking to oust Assad, has stepped up its push for direct talks as it tries to secure its border with Syria and seeks the return of more than three million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.