BEIRUT: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman headed to Istanbul Tuesday after offering his condolences for the death of former MP Nassib Lahoud in Beirut.

Feltman arrived in Beirut Monday and met with the family of Lahoud, who died last week at the age of 68.

The U.S. official’s visit to Turkey comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Syria Tuesday, and follows the defeat of a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution last week condemning President Bashar Assad’s lethal crackdown on protesters.

Turkey and the U.S. have been Assad’s harshest critics since the uprising began against Damascus in mid-March, with both Washington and Ankara calling on him to step down.