Turkey sides with Syrian people: minister
AFP
ISTANBUL- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late Thursday Turkey would side with the Syrian people if it has to make a choice between the government and its citizens.
Davutoglu said in an interview with the news channel NTV that if Turkey must choose, "we would choose people, because what is permanent for us is the brotherhood of the Syrian and Turkish people."
Turkey's top diplomat held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for more than six hours during a visit to Damascus earlier this month, urging him to end the deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests and open the path to political reforms.
Ankara, whose ties with Damascus have flourished in recent years, has repeatedly called on Assad to initiate reforms but has stopped short of calling for his departure.
The Syrian regime has sought to crush weeks of protests with brutal force, killing more than 1,600 civilians and arresting at least 12,000 dissenters, rights activists say.
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