Turkey says may terminate electricity supply to Syria

Turkey says may terminate electricity supply to Syria
Turkey may consider terminating sale of electricity to neighboring Syria if tensions continue to escalate over the alleged Syrian crackdown on anti-government protests, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday.

"We are currently supplying electricity to Syria. If this trend continues, however, we may have to revise all these decisions," Yildiz was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Yildiz's statement came hours after Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Syrian government for the weekend's attacks on the Turkish diplomatic missions in Syria following an Arab League (AL) decision to suspend Syria's membership in the organization.

Gul said Tuesday that unfortunately the Syrian government oppressed its people and committed violence instead of taking steps in line with the expectations of the Syrian people.

"There is a deadlock in Syria now. The decision of the Arab League is clear and Turkey supports it," he said.

"We cannot accept attacks on our presence, ambassador, diplomats and diplomatic missions there," he added.

Meanwhile, Erdogan said that "what has hurt us most was the attack staged on the Turkish flag in Latakia. I want to make it clear to the (Syrian President) Assad administration that all hostile hands towards the Turkish flag in history have received the appropriate response."

Syrian pro-government demonstrators attacked the Turkish diplomatic missions in the capital of Damascus and two other cities on Saturday after the AL voted to suspend Syria's participation in its meetings and impose sanctions on the government for its alleged crackdown on protesters.

Turkey evacuated the families of its diplomats after the attacks and sent a diplomatic note to Syria on Sunday over the matter. The foreign ministry has also advised Turkish citizens to avoid travelling to the unrest-hit country.

Editor: yan

English.news.cn   2011-11-15 22:46:57 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua)