Turkey is taking new economic measures against the Syrian leadership and will suspend a free trade agreement already frozen by Damascus in retaliation for sanctions by Turkey, a minister said on Friday. “We have submitted to (cabinet’s) signature a decree drafted by the economy ministry suspending (the) free trade agreement with Syria,” Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici said. Damascus had announced it had suspended the free trade pact with Ankara after Turkey followed the Arab League by announcing a raft of punitive measures targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Ankara is also planning entirely to bypass Syria as a transit route for regional trade with Middle Eastern countries. Turkey cannot stand by and watch if Syria’s crackdown on a popular uprising puts security in the region at risk, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday. While Ankara has no desire to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, it has a duty to tell Damascus “Enough!” if it puts Turkey’s security at risk by fighting its own people and forcing people to flee the country, he said. Turkey, which has become increasingly critical of its one-time ally, fears an all-out civil war based on sectarian lines in Syria could spill across its borders and spark tensions among Turkey’s own people.
