Turkey puts sanctions on Syria

30/11/2011| IslamWeb

Turkey will suspend all financial dealings with Syria and freeze Syrian government assets as part of sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's government, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu also told a news conference on Wednesday that Turkey, once a close friend of Damascus, would block the delivery of all weapons and military equipment to Damascus as part of measures aimed at persuading Assad to end a violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

Turkey's move follows in the wake of sanctions announced by the Arab league.

"Every bullet fired, every bombed mosque has eliminated the legitimacy of the Syrian leadership and has widened the gap between us," Davutoglu said.

"Syria has squandered the last chance that it was given."

Davutoglu said Syria "has entered a vicious circle of violence," despite warnings from Turkey.

"Syria must immediately cease using force on the people and the forces must immediately withdraw from the cities," Davutoglu said.

He also said a cooperation agreement with Syria was being suspended until there was a new government in place.

"Until a legitimate government which is at peace with its people is in charge in Syria, the mechanism of the High Level of Strategic Cooperation has been suspended," Davutoglu said, adding Assad's government had come "to the end of the road."

On Tuesday Davutoglu had said that Ankara is ready for any scenario if Syria continues its crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad, but that his country is opposed to a military option against its neighbor.

In an interview with television broadcaster Kanal 24 on Tuesday, he said: "We hope that a military intervention will never be necessary.

"However, the Syrian regime has to find a way of making peace with its own people to eliminate this option. If the oppression continues, Turkey is ready for any scenario."

Davutoglu also said the international community may decide a buffer zone is needed in Syria if increasing numbers of people try to flee the violence there.

"If tens, hundreds of thousands of people start advancing towards the Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey borders, not only Turkey but the international community may be required to take some steps such as a buffer zone," he said.

"We don't want that to happen but we must consider and work on that scenario."

Ankara has stepped up its criticism of the government's crackdown on Syria’s uprising after Turkish diplomatic missions came under attack by pro-government demonstrators in several cities earlier this month.

Arms embargo 'unfair'

Meanwhile, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister dismissed calls for an arms embargo on Syria and warned against imposing ultimatums on Assad's government.

Speaking in Moscow on Tuesday after a meeting with the Icelandic foreign minister, Lavrov said that calls for an arms embargo on Syria were "unfair", adding that armed groups opposing the government had been supplied from the outside.

He drew parallels to the fighting in Libya, where he said the West armed the opposition forces despite a UN arms embargo.

Lavrov said Syria's problems could not be solved by ultimatums and reaffirmed Moscow's call for a political settlement.

A Russian defense ministry official on Tuesday told the ITAR-TASS news agency that his country’s only aircraft carrier and its most modern anti-submarine destroyer will lead a powerful flotilla on a rare port call to Syria before the end of the year.

The flotilla will reach the little-used Russian base in the port of Tartus by New Year's Eve on a mission that was planned in advance and has no direct relation to Syria's intensifying standoff with the West, the official said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Demonstrators gather during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Hula, near Homs November 28, 2011.

Al-Jazeera