Ankara: The foreign minister says Turkey will take a "decisive attitude" in the face of attacks on its missions in Syria and will continue to support the Syrian people's rightful struggle for freedoms and reform.
Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that Turkey had given "necessary answers" in its diplomatic reactions. Turkey formally protested the attacks, evacuated families of diplomats as well as nonessential staff and issued a warning against traveling to Syria.
Supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday tried to break into the Turkish Embassy in Damascus and into the country's consulates in the cities of Aleppo and Latakia to denounce an Arab League decision to suspend Syria's membership in response to its crackdown on the eight-month uprising.
Turkey is not a member of the league, but welcomed the decision.
Syria apologises for protester attacks on embassies
Damascus: Syria's foreign minister, Walid Muallem, apologised on Monday for protester attacks on foreign embassies in Damascus after the Arab League voted to suspend his country from the bloc.
"I, as foreign minister, apologise for this matter," Muallem told a news conference in the Syrian capital.
"It is important... that this does not repeat itself. The protection of the embassies is part of our responsibilities. For this reason I apologise for what happened".
Late Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators attacked the embassies of France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the countries that voted to suspend Syria from the Arab League.
Arab League suspension 'a dangerous step'
Damascus: Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Monday that the government in Damascus will not budge despite its suspension from the Arab League, which he warned was a "dangerous step".
"The decision of the Arab League to suspend Syria... represents a dangerous step," Muallem told a packed news conference in Damascus.
"Today there is a crisis in Syria which pays the price of its strong positions. Syria will not budge and will emerge stronger... and plots against Syria will fail," said the minister.
Moscow opposes Syria's suspension from Arab League
Moscow: Russia opposes the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria and believes Western nations are inciting opponents of President Bashar Al Assad to seek his removal, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Monday.
Lavrov also underlined Russia's opposition to imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and said nations were whipping up tension over Tehran to impose additional unilateral sanctions against it, the reports said.
Further sanctions
Brussels: The European Union is set to slap further sanctions on Syria, targeting 18 people and freezing credits as it piles further pressure on President Bashar Al Assad's regime, diplomats said Monday.
The measures will likely be agreed at talks between the EU's foreign ministers Monday, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague stepping in saying: "It's important that the EU consider additional measures" against the Syrian regime.
