ANKARA - Turkey has seized a Syrian-flagged ship and will intercept any arms shipments headed to Syria, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said late on Friday, a response to Damascus' bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Speaking to reporters in New York late on Friday where he attended the UN General Assembly, Erdogan said Turkey had stopped a Syrian-flagged ship in Marmara, according to state-run Anatolia News Agency. It did not indicate whether the ship was stopped in the Sea of Marmara or the port of Marmara.
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US envoy: Assad losing support among key constituents'Teen becomes first female to die in Syrian custody'Erdogan did not say when the ship was seized or whether any weapons were found aboard.
"We have already made a decision to stop and prevent any vehicle carrying any type of weapon to Syria. We told them our decision as well as shared it with neighboring countries," Anatolia quoted Erdogan as saying.
"As you recall, we had previously made an interception to a ship in
Marmara. If there are planes carrying weapons, or such shipments by
land, then we would stop and confiscate them as in the past."
Turkish authorities in August intercepted an arms shipment from Iran to
Syria. In March, Turkey told a UN Security Council panel it seized a
cache of weapons Iran was attempting to export in breach of a UN arms
embargo.
After long maintaining close relations with its neighbor, Turkey has
adopted a tougher stance towards Syrian President Bashar Assad, urging
him to end a military crackdown on a popular uprising and to launch
democratic reforms.
Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey had suspended talks with Syria and that it may impose sanctions on Damascus.
Bilateral trade between Turkey and Syria was $2.5 billion in 2010, up
from $500 million in 2004. Investments of Turkish firms in Syria reached
$260 million, Turkish data show.
Assad's attempt to stamp out dissent by assaulting restive areas with
troops and tanks has prompted the United States and the European Union
to gradually escalate economic sanctions against the authoritarian
Damascus leadership.
Turkey, which has been Syria's main trading partner, has not indicated
what type of sanctions it might impose on Syria, but Turkish officials
have said they would target the administration and not the Syrian
people.
Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said this week Turkey will continue providing power supplies to Syria.
Erdogan, who once vacationed together with Assad and his family on the
Turkish Mediterranean coast, has stopped short of calling for Assad's
departure.
The EU's Official Journal showed on Saturday that the EU imposed sanctions on Syria's main mobile phone operator Syriatel, the country's largest private company Cham Holding and several construction and investment firms.
Europeans are banned from doing business with the six companies, which also include a television station, Addounia TV, and three firms linked to the Syrian military.
The ministers of justice and information were also added to a list of Syrians affected by an EU travel ban and asset freeze.