DAMASCUS - The Syrian government faces further international sanctions to end the eight-month-long crisis in the country as its suspension of membership from the Arab League (AL) is due to take effect Wednesday.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday the country may consider ending its sale of electricity to neighboring Syria if tensions continue to escalate over the alleged Syrian crackdown on anti-government protests.

"We are currently supplying electricity to Syria. If this trend continues, however, we may have to revise all these decisions," Yildiz was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Yildiz's statement came hours after Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Syrian government for the weekend's attacks on the Turkish diplomatic missions in Syria following an AL decision to suspend Syria's membership in the organization.

The Arab League decided Saturday to suspend Syria's membership, to take effect Wednesday, and then called on its members to withdraw ambassadors and impose sanctions on Damascus until it implements a peace plan brokered by the regional body.

Under the peace plan, Syria would stop the deadly crackdown on civilian protesters and withdraw military vehicles from cities, release detainees and hold a dialogue with the opposition.

The United States on Tuesday welcomed Turkey's hard stance and decision to impose energy sanctions on Syria.

Pro-government Syrians recently attacked several foreign embassies because of their countries' stances toward Syria.

On Tuesday, Syria apologized to Jordan over an attack against the Jordanian embassy in Syria's capital of Damascus, the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency reported.

According to Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Kayed, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad apologized at a meeting with Arab ambassadors in Damascus for similar attacks on several Arab diplomatic missions in the Syrian capital in the last few days, including the Jordanian embassy.

Hundreds of angry Syrians gathered late Monday outside the Jordanian embassy in Damascus to air their discontent with the Jordanian Monarch's statement calling on Syrian President Assad to step down.

Kayed said about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the embassy after King Abdullah II told BBC that Assad should step down, adding that two protesters burst into the embassy and brought down the Jordanian flag.

The attack on the Jordanian embassy came a couple of days after assaults by angry Syrians on embassies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.

The UN Security Council has expressed its strong condemnation of Syria's recent attacks on diplomatic posts in Damascus, reiterating its call on the Syrian authorities to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel in the country.

By Tuesday, the Syrian government released a total of 1,180 prisoners arrested during the eight-month-long unrest who didn't commit homicide, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Earlier this month, Syria released 553 prisoners on the occasion of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

The independent al-Watan newspaper said Tuesday that Syrian authorities Monday released hundreds of Syrian prisoners who were arrested during the unrest in the country.

Despite the peace plan reached between the Syrian government and the Arab League to hold a dialogue with the opposition, the Syrian opposition said it wouldn't negotiate with President Assad and wants UN peacekeepers sent to the country to protect civilians.

"The opposition is not going to hold any preliminary or preparative talks with the regime in Damascus," Burhan Ghalyoun, chairman of the Syrian National Council (SNC), told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Moscow.

He added that the opposition has asked the international community, including Russia, to urge Assad to step down.

Meanwhile, Ghalyoun said the SNC is still looking for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.

Ghalyoun said the SNC calls for the presence of UN peacekeepers in their country to protect civilians, which, he said, is not military intervention.