Turkish president calls for less talk and more action on Syria

2013-05-16 23

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul tours the town near the Syrian border where twin bomb blasts killed more than 50 people over the weekend.

He says it's time for the international community to offer more than words.

. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRESIDENT ABDULLAH GUL, SAYING:

"From the very start, the international community has only used rhetoric in their approach to the Syrian problem. The international community's contribution to Turkey's financial aid to these people who are in a difficult situation is only symbolic. Let's say we are powerful enough to handle this... but what about other countries neighboring Syria?"

Turkey strongly backs the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but the weekend bombings have increased fears of spill-over from the two-year-old civil war.

Damascus has denied Turkish allegations that it was involved in the blasts.