Turkey has halted talks with Damascus on political tensions in Syria and announced preparations of sanctions, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the UN General Assembly in New York after a meeting with US President Barack Obama.
Turkey is a trade partner of Syria and used to be against pressure. Ankara had pressure on Iraq, Iran. Turkey acts as a mediator between Western states and Syria as the only Muslim member of NATO and a candidate to join the EU.
Syria has had disorders since mid-March 2011, inspired by disorders in the Middle East and North Africa. protesters demand President Bashar Assad to resign and introduce political reforms. Syria has lifted the state of emergency that had been in force since 1963.
The US and Syria introduce sanctions against Syria. The UN Security Council expressed criticism of violations in Syria.
