Chief advisor of PM Erdogan responds to conflict with Syria

(NPR)
Violence in Syria between the government and the opposition continues to mount and expectations for a peaceful resolution are low. Turkey was once closely allied with the Syrian president, but now calls for him to step down. Ibrahim Kalin, chief advisor to Turkey's prime minister, explains his country's position on Syria and its role in the Middle East.
This is the transcription of the radio programme which was hosted by the Neal Conan:
NEAL CONAN, HOST:
Activists branded yesterday as the bloodiest day of the uprising in Syria. Arab League observers are scheduled to arrive in that country tomorrow, but there's little hope at this point of a peaceful resolution between the government and the opposition.
Turkey continues to be a key player. Once closely allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey now calls for him to step aside. Ankara has cut diplomatic ties with Damascus. Syrian military and political opposition groups are now based in Turkey.
Ibrahim Kalin serves as chief adviser to Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he joins us now on the phone from Ankara. Good evening, Mr. Kalin, and nice to have you with us.
DR. IBRAHIM KALIN: Good evening. Thanks for having me on.
CONAN: And how does this end in Syria?
KALIN: Well, the situation in Syria, obviously, is very complicated. You know, we are implementing a number of measures against the Syrian regime at this point. We are putting a lot of political pressure. We are implementing economic sanctions. And in the meantime, we are empowering the opposition.
We had hoped for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria. At the beginning of the events, our prime minister made a number of calls to President Assad to carry out reforms, listen to the opposition, start a national dialogue process. Unfortunately, none of these things happened.
And as a result now, President Assad is completely isolated, not only in Syria but also in the region, as it is shown by the decisions of the Arab League and the Islamic Organization Conference, a number of other regional and international organizations.
CONAN: This started months ago as protesters, much like protesters in Egypt and Libya and Tunisia. It is turning into civil war, no?
KALIN: Yeah. Well, that's what we are afraid of, obviously. As the regime continues to crack down on peaceful protesters there, you know, people, ordinary people, are losing. A lot of people on the ground said they're finding ways to defend themselves against this brutal response from the regime.
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