Assad still has chance to stop violance - Turkey

While Ankara has no desire to interfere in Syria's internal affairs, it has a duty to tell stop Damascus, if it threatens Turkey's security by fighting its own people and forcing people to flee the country, Turkish Foreign Minister, Professor Ahmet Davutoglu says, Reuters informs.

Turkey urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday to punish the "murderers" of anti-regime protesters and accept observers proposed by the Arab League, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

"If Assad is now sincere, he will immediately punish the murderers and accept Arab League observers. He still has such an opportunity," Professor Davutoğlu told reporters.

His comments were in response to a question about a rare interview with Assad in which the Syrian leader said he was not responsible for the months-long bloodshed, drawing a distinction between himself and the military.