BEIRUT: Quartet powers Egypt, Iran and Turkey met to discuss the Syrian conflict in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly late Thursday, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told The Daily Star.

The official said foreign ministers from the Quartet powers, minus Saudi Arabia, met, contradicting earlier reports that Egypt’s President Mohammad Mursi had canceled the meeting because of the absence of Turkey’s prime minister.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been due to travel to New York to join the General Assembly meetings but cancelled last minute. Officials cited a heavy work schedule ahead of a key ruling party congress Sunday, but some observers said it was a sign of frustration at the international deadlock.

“The foreign minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] will attend the working dinner,” the Turkish official told The Daily Star, adding the meeting would be at a foreign ministers level.

“[Turkey] has supported the Quartet initiative from the beginning.”

Mursi launched the Quartet of Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia last month, looking to make his mark with what he has described as a balanced foreign policy.