Lankan Ranger
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Turkey readies sanctions against Syria
Having failed to persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end a bloody crackdown, Turkey is preparing a list of sanctions against its one-time friend in a policy shift that aligns Ankara more closely with the West.
The measures, which mark a break from Turkey's long-standing record of resisting sanctions on its Middle Eastern neighbours, will complement a Turkish arms embargo already in place and underline how deeply Ankara has fallen out with Assad.
Sanctions are to be announced in the next few days, after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan visits border camps providing refuge for more than 7,000 Syrians who have fled the violence.
"Turkey is reverting to the US and European line on Syria," said foreign policy expert Semih İdiz. "The relationship with Syria has collapsed and it is heading for a freeze."
Without giving details, the Turkish government has said the sanctions will target Assad's government, not the Syrian people.
Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say they will affect military, banking and energy ties, among others.
Turkey is Syria's largest trading partner, and there had been plans to open eight new border gates. Bilateral trade was worth $2.5 billion in 2010, and investments by Turkish firms in Syria reached $260 million, Turkish data shows.
"The sanctions will follow the European and Western pattern of targeting individual members of the regime, banking, travel bans and that type of thing," İdiz told Reuters.
Under Ankara's previous policy of "zero problems" with neighbors, Turkey built up political and commercial ties with Syria, signaling a "common future" after the two almost went to war in the 1990s over outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists harbored by Damascus.
But cracks appeared as Assad repeatedly ignored calls from Turkey and the international community to end his repression of anti-government protests, and as Ankara sided with popular sentiment in Arab uprisings rocking the region.
Turkey readies sanctions against Syria
Having failed to persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end a bloody crackdown, Turkey is preparing a list of sanctions against its one-time friend in a policy shift that aligns Ankara more closely with the West.
The measures, which mark a break from Turkey's long-standing record of resisting sanctions on its Middle Eastern neighbours, will complement a Turkish arms embargo already in place and underline how deeply Ankara has fallen out with Assad.
Sanctions are to be announced in the next few days, after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan visits border camps providing refuge for more than 7,000 Syrians who have fled the violence.
"Turkey is reverting to the US and European line on Syria," said foreign policy expert Semih İdiz. "The relationship with Syria has collapsed and it is heading for a freeze."
Without giving details, the Turkish government has said the sanctions will target Assad's government, not the Syrian people.
Officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say they will affect military, banking and energy ties, among others.
Turkey is Syria's largest trading partner, and there had been plans to open eight new border gates. Bilateral trade was worth $2.5 billion in 2010, and investments by Turkish firms in Syria reached $260 million, Turkish data shows.
"The sanctions will follow the European and Western pattern of targeting individual members of the regime, banking, travel bans and that type of thing," İdiz told Reuters.
Under Ankara's previous policy of "zero problems" with neighbors, Turkey built up political and commercial ties with Syria, signaling a "common future" after the two almost went to war in the 1990s over outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists harbored by Damascus.
But cracks appeared as Assad repeatedly ignored calls from Turkey and the international community to end his repression of anti-government protests, and as Ankara sided with popular sentiment in Arab uprisings rocking the region.
Turkey readies sanctions against Syria
