ANKARA, Turkey - An envoy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, as Turkey pressed its once-close neighbor to end a crackdown that it has called "savagery".

The once-close ties between the neighbors appear to be close to a breaking point, and Assad's envoy Hassan Turkmani is likely to face Turkish impatience over Syria's repressive tactics and slowness to reform.

By Wednesday morning, about 8,500 Syrian refugees had been lodged in tent camps on Turkey's side of the border. More and more have been arriving by the day.