Turkey's embattled government vowed action on Friday over the bugging of a security meeting on Syria which was leaked on YouTube, labeling it a conspiratorial "plot" ahead of key local elections.

The leak comes amid a fierce standoff between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ally-turned-foe, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers Erdogan has blamed for the eaves-dropping.

Turkey banned YouTube on Thursday after the video-sharing website was used to spread damaging leaked audio files from a state security meeting debating possible military action in Syria.

The recording purports to be of senior Turkish government, military and spy officials discussing plans to stage an armed clash in Syria or a missile attack that would serve as a pretext for a military response.

Turkey's president said Sunday he believed the country would soon lift its ban on Twitter, condemned as a bid to muzzle a corruption scandal dogging the government ahead of key elections.

"I believe this problem will be over soon," Abdullah Gul told reporters in Ankara before leaving for an official visit to the Netherlands.

Turkey's government on Saturday defended its internationally condemned ban on Twitter as a "preventive measure" to stop "character assassinations" following a wave of corruption investigation leaks.

"Twitter has been used as a means to carry out systematic character assassinations by circulating illegally acquired recordings, fake and fabricated records of wiretapping," the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement sent to Agence France Presse in English.

The imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan used the anniversary of his party's historic ceasefire on Friday to call for a fresh start to peace talks in Turkey.

"The process of dialogue is important, although we still have not reached an agreement", said Ocalan, in a message read to 200,000 people assembled to celebrate the Kurdish new year in Diyarbakir, a city in south-eastern Turkey.

France on Friday condemned Turkey's "shocking" decision to shut down Twitter and said the aspiring EU member had to respect freedom of expression and other basic rights.

The micro-blogging site was blocked in Turkey late Thursday, just hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to "wipe out" the service.

Turkey's combative prime minister warned on Thursday that he would eradicate Twitter in the wake of damaging allegations of corruption in his inner circle that have spread across social networks in recent weeks.

"We will wipe out Twitter. I don't care what the international community says," premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at an election rally in the western province of Bursa.

Two soldiers and a police officer were shot dead Thursday in southern Turkey when assailants carried out an attack that a top official said may be linked to events in Syria.

Using long-range rifles, they fired from a truck after being ordered to stop at a checkpoint on a highway in Ulukisla, a town near the border with Syria, according to local media.

Turkey's national carrier denied on Wednesday allegations of arms shipments to unknown groups in Nigeria, which has been ravaged by violence between the army and Islamist militants.

"Turkish Airlines, in accordance with company policy, does not ship arms to countries ... where there is a power vacuum or conflict," the airline said in a statement sent to Agence France Presse.

An influential Muslim cleric locked in a bitter feud with the Turkish government has said the pressure piled on his movement now is "10 times worse" than in the era of military coups, in a rare interview published Monday.

U.S.-exiled Fethullah Gulen stands accused by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using his influence in Turkey's police and judiciary to instigate a corruption probe to topple his Islamic-rooted government.