Davutoglu: Syria is sending the wrong signals

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday urged Syria to opt for "the first and best choice" and establish peace by implementing reforms in the country, but didn't reject the possibility of international intervention, warning that the Syrian army's recent attack in Hama, resulting in dozens of casualties, had sent the "wrong signals" both to the people of Syria and the international community. "The first option for the country is to settle the issue internally through reforms, which we also encourage. This is the first and best option," Davutoglu told a joint news conference in Oslo alongside his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store. Meanwhile, both the UN and the European Union are seeking tougher sanctions on Damascus, including travel bans and freezing assets, as military intervention becomes a not-so-remote possibility. British Foreign Secretary William Hague also said that sanctions should be imposed by Arab countries as well as regional powers like Turkey.