Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Turkey has suspended joint oil exploration plans in six wells in Syria, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported Wednesday.
The plans for Turkish petroleum company TPAO to explore oil jointly with Syria's state oil company in six wells within Syria has been suspended, Yildiz was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The minister also said that Turkey might consider terminating the sale of electricity to Syria if tensions continue to escalate over the alleged Syrian crackdown on anti-government protests.
"We are currently supplying electricity to Syria. If this trend continues, however, we may have to revise all these decisions," Yildiz said.
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 warned Syria that Turkey would make a "different reaction" if any similar attack was repeated, according to the report.
Syrian pro-government demonstrators attacked the Turkish diplomatic missions in the Syrian 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: Yang Lina
English.news.cn 2011-11-16 18:26:06 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua)
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