World Press on Turkey's role in Syrian crisis (September 27, 2012)

Hurriyet published an article by Mehmet Ali Birand headlined 'Turkey is gearing down in Syria.'

"Turkey is hitting the brakes on the issue of Syria, some news reports claim. As a matter of fact, the voice of the government is not as loud as it used to be. It looks as if the tempo has slowed down. I think Turkey is doing the right thing," the article reads. 

"At the beginning, mostly with the agitation of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, we set off as a large group headed by Washington and Europe. For the sake of humanity, despite Russia and Iran, the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship should have been brought to an end. If need be, there would be embargoes imposed and no-fly buffer zones formed, leaving al-Assad with no breathing space. And it was our roaring voice that was heard the most."

"It did not serve anybody’s interest to upset the equilibrium Syria had set up. Especially when Iran stood behind al-Assad with all its power, the Baath government nowadays has been able to breathe again. It is indefinite how long this will last," the author believes. 

"Ankara used to issue a statement almost every week. When the situation is like this, voices are hushed. It was said that the number of Syrian refugees was not to increase at this pace. The Syrian opposition has said it has moved its headquarters from Turkish soil to the liberated zones in Syria."

"We will now proceed in a lower gear as we now have to make a turn after speeding excessively in the beginning," he concludes.