Ankara holds political review meeting on Syria

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday headed a lengthy political review meeting with top officials dealing with the ongoing Syrian crisis. The meeting came one day after thousands of pro-regime protesters marched toward the Turkish Embassy in Damascus and as Turkey offered continued refuge for hundreds of Syrians fleeing a violent crackdown. Halit Cevik, the deputy foreign undersecretary for Middle East affairs, and Turkey's Ambassador to Syria Omer Onhon also took part in the three-hour meeting, according to diplomatic sources. Cevik, fresh from a visit to Hatay on Turkey's border with Syria, briefed the meeting on what he had learned from the Hatay Governor's Office, the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Chairmanship (AFAD), and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay).