Turkish action on the Syrian issue is based on a broad assessment central to which is the evaluation that the Syrian regime headed by President Bashar al-Asad has lost its legitimacy and that Asad, his words and his promises cannot be trusted.

Despite its support for the initiative of joint UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan which has not called for Asad’s abdication, there is an almost complete conviction in Ankara that the situation in Syria does not allow for the continuation of the Asad regime under any circumstances. For Turkey, this is evidenced by the continuing popular upheaval against him despite the ‘mass killing operations’ carried out by his regime. Accordingly, the Turkish leadership does not accept the possibility of the persistence of the Syrian regime or a return to what the situation was before the outbreak of the revolution in Syria.