Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat – Ankara on Wednesday suspended all financial credit dealings with Damascus – including freezing the Syrian government’s assets in Turkey – joining the Arab League in isolating President Bashar al-Assad over his ongoing brutal military crackdown on opponents. One Turkish official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, stressed that these economic sanctions “will not affect the [Syrian] people” adding that they aim to “push the [Syrian] regime to re-think its position.” Although many of these economic sanctions have already been in place for months, the Turkish authorities chose to make a special announcement in this regard on Wednesday in solidarity with the sanctions imposed on the Damascus regime by the Arab League.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that “the Syrian administration has lost further legitimacy with every bullet fired and every minaret bombed”, adding that “in our opinion, by wasting all the opportunities offered to them…the Syrian administration has come to the end of the road.”
A Turkish official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, stressed that “there is no place for al-Assad in the new Syria”, adding that “it is just a matter of time.” The Turkish official said that “it is up to al-Assad to choose, sooner or later, between two fates: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali or Muammar Gaddafi.”
The Turkish official confirmed that Ankara wants to see a “better Syria”, adding that “there is no place for al-Assad in the new Syria, he lost his legitimacy more than 6 months ago, and he is today acting in the same manner as his father [Hafez al-Assad]…and this is very sad.”
The Turkish official also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “al-Assad did not learn any lessons from what happened in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya”. He said “it is up to al-Assad now to choose the model that he wants to follow… between the Tunisian and Libyan models” adding that “this is a choice that he must make sooner or later”. The Turkish official also stressed that “al-Assad must reconsider his position, for if he believes that he will remain in power forever then he is wrong…and if he believes that he is not Zine El Abidine Ben Ali or Hosni Mubarak or Ali Abdullah Saleh or Gaddafi, then he is also wrong.”
In addition to this, a senior Turkish official, also speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, stressed that Ankara had no option but to impose sanctions on Syria. However the senior source made certain to clarify that the Turkish government “does not support military operations against Syria.” The senior Turkish source also said that he believes that these sanctions may prove to be a useful way to push the Syrian officials to “rethink” their position, adding that “al-Assad is not listening to anyone…not to us [Turkey], nor the Arab League, and now he is paying the price with his regime becoming increasingly isolated, in the Arab world, the Islamic word, and internationally.”
As for what further steps Ankara might take in this regard, the senior Turkish official told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Ankara will monitor the behavior of the [al-Assad] regime” however he was not optimistic about the Syrian response to this, saying “they [the Syrians] are irrational, for if they do not like the position of some countries they send a mob to confront their embassies.” He added “they always blame the Arab states that give them one opportunity after another, and they do not commit to anything in return, continuing to kill people in the street.” The senior Turkish source also expressed his astonishment at the actions taken by the Syrian regime and its security apparatus, saying “they even continued killing people during the holy month of Ramadan and Eid.”
The Turkish source stressed the importance of Damascus returning to the negotiating table with the Arab League. He also noted that Ankara had “lost much due to the Syrian situation, for Ankara has invested a lot in Syria, and had hoped to see a gradual and peaceful transition of power, but this did not happen.” The senior Turkish official also confirmed that “the military option is not an option” adding that the issue of the “buffer zone” is not on the table at this moment. However he did say that this could change if more displaced Syrians cross the border into Turkey. He said that “the situation along our borders remains the same, and there are only a few thousands displaced persons; we will only think about this issue [buffer zone] if there is a dramatic increase in the number of [Syrian] displaced persons.”
The Turkish official also strongly rejected the claims that the Turkish sanctions were “less than expected” stressing that “we have taken more action than anyone else.” He also told Asharq Al-Awsat that Ankara “is coordinating its steps with the steps of the Arab League and the international community.”
The senior Turkish official said that he believes that the Russian backing of Syria “is not serious, and the same goes for Iranian [support of Syria].” He said “our relations with Iran are good on all levels, except with regards to the Syrian file” adding that “we told them [the Iranians] that their policy [on Syria] is contradictory, for they are speaking about the Arab Spring in every country except Syria!”
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu outlined nine sanctions being coordinated with a similar list put forward by the Arab League. Davutoglu said that Turkey would no longer deal with Syria’s central bank; halt all credit to the Syrian government; halt new transactions with the Commercial Bank of Syria; and freeze an existing credit agreement signed to support Turkish involvement in Syrian infrastructure projects. Other sanctions include a travel ban and asset freeze against certain Syrian figures, including Syrian officials accused of being involved in illegal actions against civilians, as well as Syrian businessmen with close ties to the al-Assad regime.