<p>"With regard to the statements by Turkish President (Abdullah) Gul, the Arab League's very strong statement over the weekend... Assad is increasingly isolated," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said yesterday.<br /><br />"The international community is increasingly speaking with one voice in demanding an immediate end to the violence," she said.<br /><br />The Syrian regime has sought to crush months of pro-democracy protests with brutal force, killing more than 2,200 people since mid-March, according to the UN.<br /><br />In an interview with the Anatolia news agency, Gul said Turkey had lost "confidence" in the Syrian regime following unfulfilled promises Assad had made to halt the onslaught.<br /><br />Foreign ministers from the 22-member Arab League on Saturday called for an "end to the spilling of blood and (for Syria) to follow the way of reason before it is too late."<br /><br />They also called for respecting "the right of the Syrian people to live in security and of their legitimate aspirations for political and social reforms."<br /><br />Nuland said the United States was also focusing its diplomatic efforts on obtaining punitive measures against Syria from the United Nations.<br /><br />"We're also intensifying our work in New York with some of our allies and partners on a new sanctions resolution. This will be a matter of diplomatic priority over the coming days and weeks," Nuland said.</p>
<p>"With regard to the statements by Turkish President (Abdullah) Gul, the Arab League's very strong statement over the weekend... Assad is increasingly isolated," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said yesterday.<br /><br />"The international community is increasingly speaking with one voice in demanding an immediate end to the violence," she said.<br /><br />The Syrian regime has sought to crush months of pro-democracy protests with brutal force, killing more than 2,200 people since mid-March, according to the UN.<br /><br />In an interview with the Anatolia news agency, Gul said Turkey had lost "confidence" in the Syrian regime following unfulfilled promises Assad had made to halt the onslaught.<br /><br />Foreign ministers from the 22-member Arab League on Saturday called for an "end to the spilling of blood and (for Syria) to follow the way of reason before it is too late."<br /><br />They also called for respecting "the right of the Syrian people to live in security and of their legitimate aspirations for political and social reforms."<br /><br />Nuland said the United States was also focusing its diplomatic efforts on obtaining punitive measures against Syria from the United Nations.<br /><br />"We're also intensifying our work in New York with some of our allies and partners on a new sanctions resolution. This will be a matter of diplomatic priority over the coming days and weeks," Nuland said.</p>