ISTANBUL, Ramadan 5, 1433, Jul 24, 2012, SPA - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is "closer than ever to victory" and warned that Turkey will respond firmly to any hostility from Syria. "We believe that the Syrian people are closer than ever to victory," state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Erdogan as saying at a dinner for ambassadors in Ankara on Monday evening. Erdogan also issued a new warning to Syria, calling on it to heed Turkey's firm response to the shooting down of the Turkish military reconnaissance aircraft on June 22 off the coast of Syria. "If the Syrian regime does not learn the lesson of these developments and continues its hostile behavior, Turkey will not hesitate to give as good as it gets," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Reuters. --SPA 13:30 LOCAL TIME 10:30 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1017726