German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A solution to the Syria crisis cannot simply be military and must include a political process under the auspices of the United Nations that envisages free elections as a goal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

“At the end of this political process, there must be free elections to which all Syrians have access - including the diaspora,” Merkel told a news conference in Istanbul where she met the leaders of Turkey, Russia and France.