BICOM

European Union and Persian Gulf countries recalled their ambassadors from Damascus yesterday, increasing the diplomatic isolation of the Syrian regime and President Bashar Assad.

Germany, Spain, Belgium and France announced their actions yesterday. The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — also withdrew ambassadors from Damascus and expelled Syrian ambassadors from their capitals. On Monday, Britain recalled its ambassador and the United States closed its embassy in Syria.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that it was preparing a new initiative with other countries that oppose the Syrian regime’s bloody crackdown. Turkey’s disapproval of the Syrian government is particularly noteworthy as Ankara was once a staunch ally of Assad. Erdogan gave no further details on the initiative but other world leaders have hinted at Libyan-style “contact group” outside the UN framework.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to travel to Washington today for talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the crisis in Syria is likely to be high on the agenda.

Despite concerted diplomatic action from the international community outside the United Nations, it is unclear whether diplomatic action can either pressure Russia to change its supportive stance towards Syria or force Assad to transfer power.

In related news, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday was in Damascus to hold talks with Syrian leaders. After the talks, Lavrov insisted that the discussions had been “very useful” and that Assad was “fully committed to ending the bloodshed. Nevertheless, there is wide spread international scepticism at the prospects of a Russian brokered peace.