Assad meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Damascus Tuesday. — Reuters Army continues offensive despite Turkish talks BEIRUT— Syria's president held talks with neighboring Turkey's foreign minister Tuesday as the regime faced a chorus of global reproach, with envoys from India, Brazil and South Africa also heading to Damascus to press for an end to the violent crackdown on a five-month-old uprising. The visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was significant because Turkey until recently had close ties to Damascus. But Ankara has become increasingly critical of its neighbor over the bloodshed. In Washington, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner lauded the visit and said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had spoken to Davutoglu. “They did talk about the situation in Syria, you know, and we believe it's another opportunity to send yet another strong message to Assad that this crackdown on peaceful protesters cannot stand,” Toner said Monday. India's UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said his country's representative is scheduled to arrive in Damascus Tuesday and will join representatives from Brazil and South Africa for a meeting with Syria's foreign minister to appeal for an end to the crackdown and to promote democratic reforms. The Syrian regime has shown no signs of scaling back its crackdown despite Damascus' increasing diplomatic isolation. Saudi Arabia, along with Bahrain and Kuwait in the Gulf, recalled their ambassadors this week. In an editorial published Tuesday, the Al Baath newspaper of Syria's ruling Baath party said the regime was hopeful that Turkey and the Gulf Arab nations will “quickly correct their stands.” Assad's forces continued an offensive in the eastern city of Deir Al-Zor. Meanwhile, the speaker of Iraq's parliament Tuesday called for an end to Syria's deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, saying the neighboring country must “stop the bloodshed.”
