Germany will not supply weapons to Turkey: Angela Merkel

Berlin: In the wake of Turkey's operation in northeast Syria, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Berlin would not deliver any arms to Ankara.

"In recent days, I have strongly urged Turkey... to end its military operation against the Kurdish military and I'm stressing that again now. It's a humanitarian drama with huge geopolitical effects so Germany will not deliver any weapons to Turkey under the current conditions," Merkel told Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, reported Sputnik.

Earlier on Monday, the European Union's foreign ministers agreed to condemn the Turkish encroachment into Syria through stringent arms export checks. However, the bloc has refrained from implementing a full weapon embargo so far.

Her announcement came after media reports cited German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as saying that Berlin would stop selling weapons to Turkey.

Moreover, Norway and Finland have already suspended military exports to Ankara.

Turkey has launched its military operation last week after the United States, an ally of Kurdish militia People's Protection Units (YPG), in the war against Islamic State militants, announced the withdrawal of its troops from the area.

 

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