Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday told Bashar Assad military operations against civilians must end immediately and unconditionally, warning the Syrian president that these were Ankara's "final words".
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"This is our final word to the Syrian authorities, our first expectation is that these operations stop immediately and unconditionally," Davutoglu told a news conference.
"If these operations do not stop there will be nothing left to say about the steps that would be taken," he said, without elaborating.
Turkish leaders, who once backed Assad, have repeatedly urged him to end violence and make reforms after street protests against his 11 years in power erupted five months ago.
'Assad refused asylum in Spain'
Meanwhile, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the Syrian president had rejected a proposal from Madrid for political asylum for himself and his family, as well as a plan to end violence in Syria.
According to the report, Madrid sent one of President José Luis Zapatero's aides to Damascus last month to convince Assad to accept the plan.
The Spanish proposal included three stages: Immediate cessation of the violent crackdown, a conference of all parties to the conflict in Madrid, and the establishment of a new government with representation to the opposition.
The Spanish aide told the paper he got the impression Assad would not compromise and that Syrian officials were all "out of touch with reality."
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