ISTANBUL
An international conference on Syria began in the north-western province of Istanbul on Saturday.
Speaking at the conference, the Chairman of the Syrian National Council (SNC) George Sabra underlined that the "tyrant Syrian regime was planting seeds of ethnic discrimination."
The Assad regime is planting seeds of ethnic discrimination in order to continue its existence, Sabra noted.
Also speaking at the conference, the Coordinator of Arabic Edition Service of the Anadolu Agency (AA), Turan Kislakci stressed that the Syrian opposition had responsibility for its own people.
"The Syrian opposition should leave behind internal disagreements and try to save the Syrian people," Kislakci also said.
The conference is being organized by the Union of Islamic Non-governmental Organizations.
Turkey spends 533 million Turkish liras for Syrian refugees.
Meanwhile, Turkey spent 533 million Turkish liras for Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek indicated that the Turkish government spent 533 million TL for Syrian refugees until the end of 2012.
Simsek underlined that this figure did not include the money spent by local municipalities and other administrations.
