Ankara is intensifies its pressure on the Syrian Bashar Al Assad government, with the Turkish president Abdullah Gül stating that the current Syrian regime has reached a ‘dead end’ in his state visit to Britain.

London / NationalTurk – Syria has reached a ‘dead end’ that makes a change of regime and government in the Arab republic ineluctable, Turkey Republic President Abdullah Gül announced and added that the change in Syria should not come through external intervention. Gül expressed his opinion on Syria developments that The Syrian people must make that change. No one wants to see a country suffer under Civil war, the Turkish president told in an interview during his visit to England and stated on the dangers looming ahead for Syria and the region.

Abdullah Gül visits Great Britain, hosted by the her Majesty, Quenn Elizabeth II

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II formally welcomed Turkish President Abdullah Gül and his wife, Hayrünnisa Gül, to London at a ceremony that took place near Buckingham Palace. Before President Abdullah Gül and his wife arrived at the ceremony field near the palace, the Kingdom Squadron entered, accompanied by a band. The queen and her husband, Duke of Edinburgh Philip, arrived at the field followed by a ceremonial car carrying Gül and his wife, who arrived from White Hall Gate.

The two heads of state shook hands warmly as the hosts laid on the traditional pomp at the ceremony, which included a 41-gun royal salute and Gül’s inspection of the lines of Coldstream Guards in their grey greatcoats.

During the formal ceremony, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Home Secretary Theresa May accompanied the British queen. The United Kingdom hopes the visit will forge stronger ties with Turkey, a growing economic power and an increasingly important trade partner straddling Europe and the Middle East.

First state vist by a Turkish president to Britain in 23 years

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu are accompanying Gül during his visit. It marks the first official visit by a Turkish president to Britain in 23 years. The latest Turkish president to set his foot on British soil was Kenan Evren , the 7th president of Republic of Turkey. The U.K. accepts a maximum of two state visits in one year; the year’s first visit was paid by U.S. President Barack Obama. Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to Turkey in 2008.

Turkey President Abdullah Gül was scheduled to meet British PM Cameron and receive Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg  and was also slated to attend a dinner hosted by the queen at Buckingham Palace later in the day. Gül also met former British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw on Nov. 21.

Britain and Turkey have condemned President Bashar al-Assad’s actions as ‘appalling and unacceptable’ and held talks with representatives of Syrian opposition groups. Gül told the respected British newspaper Guardian that it was too late for Assad to make reforms in Syria and he had spoken to Assad regularly until a few months ago and advised him at the time to allow free elections, release political prisoners and announce a clear timetable for reforms. ‘It’s quite too late for that sort of thing now’ he told the newspaper. ‘He seems to have opted for a different route. And frankly we do not have any more trust in him.’

Turkey prepares for the worst case scenerio in Syria

The Turkish president said his country would not remain indifferent to Syria’s crisis and would support the demands of the Syrian people, but Turkey would be ready for the worst case in Syria. In today’s world, authoritarian regimes or one-party states are no longer acceptable in the eyes of either the local citizens or those of people in the rest of the world, Gül underlined.

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