When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent tanks on civilians, U.S. President Barack Obama called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to press reports they decided to give 72 hours to Syria to end the violence. Erdogan rapidly called Bashar al-Assad and warned him that Obama was getting prepared for imposing new sanctions on his country. Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the government's harsh intervention in the uprising and the civilian casualties, and called on al-Assad to "respond to his people's demands for reforms".
Erdogan later said that Ankara was sending a special delegation to Damascus, and added that the current situation in Syria was creating uneasiness, and that Turkey did not want an authoritarian and totalitarian structure in Syria.
Source: Vatan, Radikal (Turkey), April 27, 2011
