Turkey’s Erdogan says there is now ‘a new reality’ in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says there is now a new reality in neighboring Syria, where Turkey has long supported opposition forces and carried out incursions against Kurdish forces that it regards as terrorists.

He was speaking as Syrian rebels entered suburbs of the city of Homs, sources say, opening a path to Damascus in a lightning advance as front lines collapse and government forces battle to save President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.

“There is now a new reality in Syria, politically and diplomatically. And Syria belongs to Syrians with all its ethnic, sectarian and religious elements,” Erdogan says in a speech in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep. “The people of Syria are the ones who will decide the future of their own country.”