Turkey will soon unveil a set of sanctions on the Syrian regime and is readying itself for any scenario, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says.
Davutoglu says a cabinet meeting held earlier this week had clarified the steps to be taken against Damascus.
"We will announce them after further consultations with the president and the prime minister," he told reporters at a press conference.
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Turkey's move comes after Arab foreign ministers on Sunday agreed sweeping sanctions designed to cripple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has defied international pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on protests.
"We are supporting the decisions made by the Arab League. We'll implement them to a great extent," Davutoglu said, adding that there might be some "nuances" because of Turkey's position as a neighbour of Syria.
Turkey has already halted joint oil exploration with Syria and threatened to cut electric power supplies.
Davutoglu insisted that measures contemplated by Turkey would not harm civilians and that Ankara was not considering halting the delivery of water from the Euphrates River to Syria.
TRADE ISSUES FOR TURKEY
Earlier on Tuesday, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey was seeking alternative routes to bypass Syria for regional trade if conditions in the neighbouring country deteriorate.
"If conditions aggravate in Syria, we are planning to shift (road) transport to Iraq by opening new gates," he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
Syria is a transit country for Turkey's trade with Middle Eastern countries. Turkey and Syria abolished visa requirements in 2009.
Current trade volume between Turkey and Syria stands at around $A2.5 billion favourable to Turkey, experts say. The one-time allies had vowed to raise it to five billion dollars in 2012.
But the sanctions planned by Ankara aimed at punishing the Syrian regime for its ongoing violence, which has claimed more than 3500 lives according to the United Nations, are likely to undermine this objective.
CONCERN OVER REFUGEE INFLUX
Turkey is increasingly concerned about the Syrian regime's crackdown on dissidents and fears an influx of refugees.
Davutoglu, in a televised interview, voiced opposition to any military intervention in Syria but said Turkey was ready "for every scenario".
"If hundreds of thousands of people flee to our border, this would of course create a different situation," he said.
"Some steps could be taken then together with the international community," he said when asked whether Turkey was mulling the creation of a buffer zone.
In separate remarks, Davutoglu however said measures such as creating a buffer zone were not on the government's agenda "for now".
