Turkey Imposes Sanctions on Syria
Ankara imposed sanctions against Syria on Wednesday, including a freeze on the regime’s assets in Turkey and on official lines of credit, further isolating President Bashar al-Assad and his embattled government.
“The Syrian Administration has further lost its legitimacy with every bullet fired and with every minaret bombed,” Mr. Davutoglu said, explaining the decision to turn on Mr. Assad, a former close ally. “In our opinion, by wasting all the opportunities offered to them…the Syrian administration has come to the end of the road.”
Mr. Davutoglu’s remarks, broadcast live on Turkey’s NTV television, were interrupted by news of a lone gunman, who opened fire in the heart of Istanbul’s Sultanahmet tourist district, wounding a security guard and a soldier.
The attacker was killed and later described as a Libyan national who was driving a car with Syrian license plates. Turkey’s NTV television cited witnesses who claimed the gunman shouted he was Syrian. It wasn’t clear whether the shooting and sanctions were connected.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Naim Sahin identified the assailant as Samir Salem Ali Elmadhavri, a 36-year-old Libyan citizen who had entered Turkey on Sunday, the state news agency Anadolu Ajansi reported. The gunman’s car at the scene had Syrian registration plates, Mr. Sahin, according to Anadolu.
Mr. Davutoglu said the nine sanctions announced were being coordinated with a similar list that the Arab League had agreed to Sunday.
He said Turkey would end relations 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 included a travel ban and asset freeze for individuals in the regime accused of taking part in illegal actions against civilians, as well as for businessmen close to the regime.
Also listed were some steps that have been announced and implemented previously, such as a halt to all Turkish military aid and arms sales to Syria, and an embargo on the transit of arms to Syria across Turkish territory.