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Syria
Turkey piles more pressure on Syria
Relations between the former allies are deteriorating rapidly, with Turkey’s Prime Minister saying the Syrian regime was balanced “on a knife-edge”.
TURKEY HAS INCREASED its pressure on Syria’s government over its violent repression of anti-regime protests taking place across the country.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today said that the future of Syria could not be “built on the blood of the oppressed” and announced the suspension of joint oil exploration projects between the two countries, the BBC reports.
Erdogan said that history would label Syria’s current administration to be filled with “leaders who feed on blood,” adding: “Bashar Assad should see the tragic ends of the ones who declared war against their own people”.
Turkey is also to threatening to stop electricity exports to Syria, Reuters reports.
The move follows a series of attacks on Turkish missions in the troubled country by those angered by Turkey’s decision to support the Arab League’s move to suspend Syria, according to the Telegraph.
The White House has welcomed Turkey’s “strong stance”, saying that Erdogan’s word underline how isolated Assad has become.
The UN said earlier this month that it estimates 3,500 people have been killed since anti-regime protests began in Syria in mid-March. November is set to be the bloodiest month of the conflict yet, with more than 300 people killed this month.
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