Merkel: Russia, China seeing Syrian president's time is up

China and Russia are increasingly realizing that Syrian President Bashar Assad's time is up, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, as she visited German troops stationed with NATO Patriot missiles close to the Turkish-Syrian frontier.

Merkel, beginning a two-day trip to Turkey, said the missiles, provided at NATO member Turkey's request, were a signal that the alliance would not tolerate Damascus dragging its neighbors into its conflict. (Reuters)