Dubai: A minute after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ended his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Damascus, Turkey's state-run TRT TV accused the Syrian military of massacring civilians in various cities.
No press conference was held at the end of the meeting between the officials.
Diplomats said the Davutoglu-Al Assad meeting failed even before it started as contrary to protocol, Davutoglu was received at the airport by Syria's deputy foreign minister, which was an unwelcoming sign.
Political analysts in Ankara said they had not expected Davutoglu's mission to Syria to succeed. Members of Parliament and opinion writers called on the Turkish government to take precautions against infiltration of Kurdish rebels from Syria recalling the tense relations between the two countries in the 1990s.
Three-nation peace bid
"The Turkish government must anticipate anything from the Syrian regime. It will try its best to destabilise Turkey. At the same time, we should not let our Syrian neighbours drown in their quest for democracy," Mustafa Khashram, a political analyst, told Gulf News.
Meanwhile, an army crackdown continued in the eastern Syrian city of Deir Al Zor while military operations were launched in two western cities — Bennish and Taybat Al Imam.
At least 33 people have been killed in the three cities, including eight women and children in Taybat Al Imam alone.
Meanwhile, Iraq has joined other Arab states in expressing outrage over Syria's crackdown on protesters with speaker Osama Al Nujaifi condemning the bloodshed and "oppression of freedom". Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have withdrawn their envoys from Damascus.
Meanwhile, the governments of India and South Africa will join Brazil on a mission to Syria today in a bid to halt the deadly crackdown, officials in Brasilia said.
"The Brazilian representative is already in Damascus, where he awaits his counterparts," and their meeting with a Syrian government representative aimed at opening a dialogue to help bring the violence to an end should occur today, a Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
