Dubai: Turkey has given the Syrian government a two-week ultimatum to come up with a set of reforms and asked President Bashar Al Assad's regime to withdraw its security forces from restive cities before the UN Security Council meeting today.
A defiant Al Assad, however, has pledged to pursue a relentless battle against "terrorist groups".
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said he hoped Syria would take steps towards reform in 10-15 days and that Ankara gave a clear message to Damascus to halt bloodshed resulting from its brutal repression of pro-democracy protests.
Erdogan's comments came after Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Damascus on Tuesday during which he held a three-hour closed door meeting with Al Assad. "Turkey's message to [Al] Assad is very clear: stop all kinds of violence and bloodshed," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara. He called on Damascus to meet the Syrian people's demands for democracy.
Turkey's ambassador to Damascus, who visited the besieged city of Hama, reported that tanks were leaving the city.
Meanwhile, the US Wednesday announced new sanctions on Syria.
The Treasury Department said it was designating the Commercial Bank of Syria and its Lebanon-based unit, Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, under a presidential executive order that targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.
It also designated telecom operator Syriatel under a separate order that targets Syrian officials and others responsible for human rights abuses in Syria.
