Turkish president hopeful of progress on Syria at G20

As world leaders have met for the final day of the G20 summit in Russia, Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed his hopes that the summit will bring the leaders to  agreement to end the bloodshed in Syria. "I hope obstructed issues will be resolved with the occasion of the G20 meetings and the international community will say stop this civil war by acting collectively. It is certain that something should be done [to stop bloodshed], otherwise it cannot be acceptable to watch many more people being killed before our eyes while just discussing," Gul said in the northwestern Turkish city of Yalova. G20 leaders are still divided over the Syrian conflict on the final day of the summit. Italian PM Enrico Letta said the splits were confirmed during a working dinner in St. Petersburg on Thursday. US President Barack Obama is thought to be trying at the G20 summit to build an international coalition to back strikes against military targets in Syria. But Russia denounces the potential use of force, with President Vladimir Putin saying that any action without UN approval would be an "act of aggression." During his official visit to Yalova, the Turkish president also touched upon the verbal assault committed against students who were wearing headscarves at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in the capital city of Ankara. "Education is the fundamental right of all which nobody can deny. Such [discriminatory] attitudes are unworthy. METU is one of the prominent universities in Turkey. These are outdated issues. Don't put pressure on any student because of their ideas and beliefs," he told journalists. In regards to the solution process Gul emphasized, "All the issues discussed are about solving the problems of Turkey and raising Turkey's democratic and legal standards through universal means."