Turkey said on Friday it might set up a “buffer zone” inside Syria to protect the increasing flow of refugees fleeing Assad’s forces, a move that would require armed protection and could profoundly shift the dynamics of the uprising.

“A buffer zone, a security zone, are things being studied,” Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, adding that this was only a suggestion being considered.

It has been made clear that a buffer zone inside Syria would need to be secured which would require at least  Syrian government approval, that could bring Turkish forces into confrontation with Syrian forces reports Reuters.

Turkish Prime Minister also said he was considering recalling its ambassador from Damascus once Turkish citizens had fleed Syria, which the Turkish Foreign Ministry urged them to do at once.

Turkey says that there are currently 14,700 Syrian refugees living in camps on its territory. On Thursday it announced there had been an increase in the flow, with some one thousand arriving within one day, as Fighting has moved closer to the Turkish border, with a government attack in the Idlib region.

At the same time, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan urged the Security Council to end its differences over Syria and unite to end the bloody crackdown on protesters.

As Assad’s  isolation grows, four members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced the closures of their embassies in protest against itsbrutal crackdown, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) .

Russia, one of Assad’s few remaining allies , condemned the decision, saying it was essential to keep communication.

Russia and China have vetoed two resolutions on Syria in the past six months saying they were unbalanced. The council has been internationally critisized for its failure to pass a resolution in the year of the revolt.

Chinese and Russian vetos have hampered Western and Arab-backed diplomatic action over Syria in the United Nations. Turkey is looking for closer co-operation with the Arab League, while pressing Russia to

The Syrian crisis has put new energy into old allegiances in what had been shifting diplomatic territory in the region. Syria and Russia are old allies, but Syria, already close to Iran, had been moving closer to Turkey until earlier this year.