Turkey: 'No point' in talking with Syria

• Tweet

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- There is "no point" in having a dialogue with the Syrian government so long as it continues to "massacre its own people," the Turkish foreign minister said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this week he was "deeply disappointed" that a call for a truce during the recent Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha wasn't honored. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 500 people were killed during the civil war since last week.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday the Turkish government is in support of a transitional government in Damascus but ruled out direct talks with the Syrian government.

"There can be no point in dialogue with a regime that continues to massacre its own people even during Eid," Davutoglu was quoted by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman as saying. Only those who aren't involved in the bloodshed can have a role in the future Syria, he said.

Damascus maintains it is responding to a rebellion waged by fighters armed by foreign governments. Turkish forces have responded with military force to Syrian violence that has spilled across the border.

The Qatari government was quoted by CNN as accusing the Syrian government of waging "a war of extermination" against its people.

Russia and China, two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have objected to efforts to pass resolutions against Syria, saying drafts measure lack balance.