Davutoglu: Turkey Preparing Targeted Sanctions against Syria

Turkey has signaled possible support for a buffer zone to protect Syrian civilians if the Assad regime continues its deadly crackdown on protesters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Financial Times on Tuesday that Ankara was preparing targeted sanctions against Damascus and left the door open for more drastic steps at a later date, such as a buffer zone or a no fly-zone on Syrian territory.

“The Syrian regime is attacking the Syrian people, which is unacceptable,” Davutoglu said. “When we see such an event next door to us of course we will never be silent.”

When asked about Turkey’s stance on a buffer zone or a no-fly zone, he said in the interview: “We hope that there will be no need for these type of measures but of course humanitarian issues are important …There are certain universal values all of us need to respect and protecting citizens is the responsibility of every state.”

Davutoglu said Turkish sanctions against Syria would be targeted rather than broad.

“We have always been against sanctions, economic sanctions which will harm people,” Davutoglu said. “But certain measures (that) have an impact on a regime fighting against its own people are different.”

Davutoglu also rejected a claim by Syrian President Bashar Assad that western intervention in Syria could inflame the region and turn the country into another Afghanistan.

To compare “Syria to Afghanistan would mean implicitly to accept that it is a failed state, which is not true,” he said. “There is a state continuing in Syria; the important thing is how the leaders of this state are acting.”