Turkey to monitor Syria actions after marathon talks in Damascus

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Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for more than six hours on Tuesday to discuss “concrete steps” Syria should take to stop its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, and added that Turkey would monitor Syria’s actions in the coming days.

“The steps to be taken in the coming days are important,” Davutoğlu told reporters after his return from Damascus. “We hope measures will be taken to stop the bloodshed.”

Davutoğlu, who is now due to report to the government about his talks with Assad, was unwilling to reveal much about what was discussed. “We, in the clearest and most open manner, shared with President Assad the measures that could be taken to prevent confrontations between the military and people and events similar to those in Hama,” Davutoğlu said, describing the marathon talks as frank and friendly.

The government, which enjoyed very close ties with the Syrian administration until a few months ago, has increasingly become critical of the crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had earlier called the crackdown “savagery,” said on Saturday that Turkey’s patience was running out and warned the “future process will be shaped according to responses” that Davutoğlu gets from Syria.

Davutoğlu said he and Assad met for about three and a half hours, in addition to three-hour talks attended by delegations they led. Turkey’s objective is an immediate end to the bloodshed, he said, adding that Turkey hoped for a peaceful transition in Syria resulting in the Syrian people determining their own future.
Turkey conveys own messages to Syria

The Turkish foreign minister also underlined that the messages he conveyed to Assad were those of Turkey’s, not any third country, dismissing charges at home that he had visited Syria on behalf of the US. “I want to emphasize, as a matter of principle, that I only convey considerations by our president, the prime minister and the government,” Davutoğlu said, when reminded of a phone conversation he had had with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of his visit.

Earlier in the day, Selahattin Demirtaş, leader of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) slammed Davutoğlu’s visit to Syria, saying he travelled to Syria “not only as the foreign minister of Turkey, but also as an envoy of the US.”

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also complained of what he perceived as foreign involvement in Turkey’s toughening stance against Assad, saying at a news conference on Tuesday that Turkish-Syrian relations deteriorated suddenly when “Western powers got involved.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner lauded Davutoğlu’s visit and reiterated that Clinton had spoken with the Turkish foreign minister. “They did talk about the situation in Syria, you know, and we believe it’s another opportunity to send yet another strong message to Assad that this crackdown on peaceful protesters cannot stand,” Toner said on Monday.
Assad vows relentless pursuit of “terrorist groups”

Syria is under pressure not only from Turkey and the US, but also Europe and the Arab world to stop the bloody crackdown on protests. But on Tuesday, there was little sign of immediate progress despite Davutoğlu’s talks as the Syrian army launched a series of new raids around the country, which activists said killed 22 people.

In addition, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said Assad told Davutoğlu the Syrian government will be relentless in its pursuit of “terrorist groups” to safeguard stability and security in the country. Syrian authorities blame the unrest on extremist and terrorist groups seeking to destabilize the country, as opposed to true-reform seekers. But the protesters being killed are mostly unarmed and peaceful.

SANA said Assad also pledged to press ahead with reforms. But promises of reform have rung hollow, especially since they have been coupled with a bloody campaign against civilians. Human rights groups said Tuesday that at least 22 people, including several children, were killed across Syria on Tuesday.

Tanks stormed villages outside the besieged city of Hama and two towns in Idlib province, which borders Turkey, activists said. A human rights activist near Hama said military operations in the town of Tibet el-Imam just north of the city killed at least five children, four of them from the same family. “They were playing in the fields when they were struck by gunfire,” the activist said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

There was heavy machine-gun fire and reports of at least three deaths in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, which also has been a flashpoint in recent days. Four people were also killed in the town of Binnish in the north, and several others in the central city of Homs.

The reports were confirmed by the activist network the Local Coordination Committees and the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The LCC said a total of eight children were killed across the country on Tuesday. Syria has blocked nearly all outside witnesses to the violence by banning foreign media and restricting local coverage that strays from the party line that the regime is fighting thugs and religious extremists who are acting out a foreign conspiracy.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr joined Arab countries in warning Damascus, saying, “The situation in Syria is heading to the point of no return.” In a news conference in Cairo Tuesday, Amr urged the Syrian government to carry out nationwide reforms and end the crackdown.

India’s UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said his country’s representative is scheduled to arrive in Damascus on Tuesday and will join representatives from Brazil and South Africa for a meeting with Syria’s foreign minister to appeal for an end to the crackdown and to promote democratic reforms.

The Syrian regime has shown no signs of scaling back its crackdown despite Damascus’ increasing diplomatic isolation. Saudi Arabia, along with Bahrain and Kuwait in the Gulf, recalled their ambassadors this week.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Al Baath newspaper of Syria’s ruling Baath party said the regime was hopeful that Turkey and the Gulf Arab nations will “quickly correct their stands.”

The latest wave of bloodshed started a week ago, on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when tanks and snipers laid siege to Hama, which had largely freed itself from government control earlier this year.

Residents were left cowering in their homes, too terrified to peek through the windows. The city is haunted by memories of the regime’s tactics: In 1982, Assad’s father and predecessor, Hafez, ordered the military to quell a rebellion by Syrian members of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood movement there, sealing off the city in an assault that killed between 10,000 and 25,000 people.

Since the start of Ramadan, more than 300 people have been killed in cities including Hama and Deir el-Zour, an oil-rich but largely impoverished region known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syria and into Iraq.

On Monday, Assad replaced his defense minister with the army chief of staff, saying Gen. Ali Habib was being removed from his post because of health problems.