Syria crisis: US, Turkey consider no-fly zones

Hillary Clinton says the United States and Turkey are looking at all measures to help bring and end to the violence in Syria.

Hillary Clinton says the United States and Turkey are looking at all measures to help bring and end to the violence in Syria.

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The United States and Turkey are considering imposing no-fly zones and other steps on Syria to help rebel forces, Hillary Clinton has announced.

The US secretary of state said she and the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, agreed to examine the possibility of imposing a flying ban, while Turkish media reported that they were also considering creating safe havens in Syria.

"It is one thing to talk about all kinds of potential actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense analysis and operational planning," Clinton said. "Our intelligence services, our military have very important responsibilities and roles to play so we are going to be setting up a working group to do that.”

The imposition of no-fly zones by foreign powers were crucial in helping Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. Until recently the international community has been reluctant to take an overt military role in 17-month-old conflict.

Davutoglu said it was time for outside powers to take decisive steps to resolve the humanitarian crisis in cities such as Aleppo, which is under daily Syrian government bombardment. Clinton was scheduled to hold talks with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and President Abdullah Gul. GNS