Turkey considers Iraq as alternative trade route

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Source: AP

BEIRUT (AP) — Regional pressure mounted against President Bashar Assad's regime on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia urged its citizens to leave Syria, and Turkey said it could use Iraq as an alternative trade route. That would cut out Syria entirely as Damascus faces broad economic sanctions over its deadly crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising.

Russia's foreign minister, however, gave the regime a boost, warning against imposing ultimatums on Assad's government.

Activists said at least 11 Syrians were killed by security forces in a series of raids and house searches on Tuesday, five in the tense Damascus suburb of Rankous, five in the central city of Homs and one in the town of Saraqeb in Idlib.

Syria has been a main transit route for Middle East trade, which Damascus hopes will help cushion the effects of tough new sanctions from the Arab League and Turkey. The Arab sanctions were expected to bite far more than existing sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union, which had far more limited trade with Damascus.


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