Erdogan advises Assad to make democratic reforms to appease protesters

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed concern over the situation in Syria, and advised Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to implement democratic reforms in order to appease protesters. “I told him to take lessons from what has been happening in the region,” Erdogan said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

“The winds of change are everywhere," he said. "During my last visit to Syria I talked with Assad and mentioned that a similar process might develop in his country and that there was a threat of a sectarian approach. Now we see that situation is happening." According to Erdogan, Assad must deal with the uprising in a democratic manner, and not adopt the approaches of other Arab leaders. (Ynet)