Turkish FM says new era sweeping Middle East, urges Arab leaders to embrace change or risk being cast away

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday a new era was sweeping the Middle East and it was up to its leaders to embrace change or risk being cast away.

He dismissed allegations by many Arab autocrats that an unprecedented wave of uprisings that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and inspired masses across Libya, Yemen and Bahrain was the work of "foreign elements."

Davutoglu said the Middle East was passing through a political and social upheaval like that which gripped Eastern Europe in the 1990s and toppled a series of communist dictators.

"In the region there is an era of change," Davutoglu told Reuters in an interview. "It is like Eastern Europe in the late 1990s. Once there is a popular demand in a region, each country is being affected by these demands."

The world, he said, was changing and a young generation of Arabs "wanted more dignity, more economic prosperity and more democracy."

"Now wise leaders in the region should lead this process rather than try to prevent it. Those who try to prevent this process will face more difficulties like in Libya," he said. "This is a new era that will bring many challenges, many opportunities and many risks."

"It is up to these leaders to maximize the opportunities and minimize these risks," he added.

Davutoglu was speaking a day after an international coalition in London piled pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to quit, resolving to continue military action against his forces until he complies with a UN resolution.