Damascus bolder after UN's Syria disagreement, Turkish FM says

LOS CABOS, MEXICO (A.A) - February 20, 2012 - Turkey's top diplomat has said UN Security Council's disagreement on how to end violence in Syria had encouraged the Damascus government to assume an even more aggressive position against civilians. "The deadlock in the United Nations had triggered more killings as the regime had engaged in much more violent attacks after concluding that the international community would not move," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Anadolu Agency in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he participated in a meeting of the G20 countries.   Davutoglu said the Security Council's disagreement on Syria had also shown that the council was far from being a broad representation, adding, "the five permanent members discuss, negotiate and bargain among themselves and pass resolutions which make countries, their regions and neighbors pay the price."      "If the UN does not work as platform to solve this issue, than a new international initiative should be launched. And a meeting next Friday in Tunisia is the first of such initiatives to produce a powerful political agreement which the UN lacks, to support an Arab League plan and prioritize humanitarian aid to Syrian people," Davutoglu said.   Responding to question over news reports that the Syrian regime was mining its borders to avert civilians from fleeing the country, Davutoglu said he heard of similar news. "That would be the biggest mistake the regime would make, turning Syria into an open-air prison," Davutoglu said.