In a joint statement published Monday following a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, the Council of the EU said Turkey’s attack on Kurdish-controlled northern Syria will create a fresh wave of refugees and harm humanitarian work.
“The EU condemns Turkey’s military action which seriously undermines the stability and the security of the whole region, resulting in more civilians suffering and further displacement and severely hindering access to humanitarian assistance,” the statement read.
“It makes the prospects for the UN-led political process to achieve peace in Syria far more difficult. It also significantly undermines the progress achieved so far by the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh, stressing that Daesh remains a threat to European security as well as Turkey’s, regional and international security,” it added, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The conflict has already displaced more than 130,000 people according the UN figures.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) suspended its anti-ISIS mission to focus on repelling the Turkish invasion. Fears of an ISIS resurgence amid the chaos grew on Sunday when almost 800 ISIS-affiliated women and their children escaped a camp in Ain Issa. Several militants have also broken out of the SDF’s overstretched makeshift prisons.
“The Council calls for a ministerial meeting of the International Coalition against Daesh in order to address how to pursue its efforts in the current context,” the statement added.
Although the EU has not agreed any joint sanctions scheme of its own, Monday’s official statement acknowledged the decision of several EU member states to suspend arms sales to Turkey in response to the offensive. It said a committee meeting would be held later this week to “coordinate and review the Member states’ positions on this matter”.
“There is a strong commitment by all members of the council to take the actions required to stop selling arms to Turkey,” Josep Borrell, the Spanish foreign minister who is slated to become EU foreign policy chief next month, told The Associated Press.
France and Germany joined The Netherlands, Norway, and Finland over the weekend in suspending arms sales to Turkey.
“A number of European Governments have curbed future sales to Turkey – although in most cases, as far as I can tell, this will not impact existing sales,” Andrew Smith, spokesman for the UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), told Rudaw on Monday.
“The symbolism is important, but it’s hard to say what practical impact this will have on the ground. Turkey’s domestic arms industry has grown over recent years and it will already have a lot of weapons already,” Smith added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced the start of his long-threatened military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, nicknamed Operation Peace Spring.
The Turkish president stressed the operation is designed to target the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and would not undermine efforts to defeat ISIS remnants.
Turkey views the YPG, which forms the backbone of the SDF, as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK has fought a decades-long guerrilla war with the Turkish state for greater cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey.
Trump greenlighted the Turkish offensive on Sunday night when he announced the withdrawal of US troops stationed in the border area between Syria and Turkey.
The autonomous Kurdish administration saw the US presence as a guarantee against Turkish attack. The SDF’s top commander Mazloum Kobani Abdi called the move a “stab in the back”.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northeast Syria, teamed up with Democrat Chris Van Hollen on Wednesday to introduce legislation designed to impose far-reaching sanctions on NATO ally Turkey.
The sanctions would freeze all US assets of Turkey's political leadership and impose sanctions on entities that do business with Turkey's military or with oil and gas companies that service its armed forces, AFP reports.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham teamed up with Democrat Chris Van Hollen on Wednesday to introduce legislation designed to impose far-reaching sanctions on Ankara.
Any agreed package is expected to freeze all US assets of Turkey’s political leadership and impose sanctions on entities that do business with Turkey’s military or with oil and gas companies that service its armed forces.
If the US sanctions hammer falls, Turkey’s foreign ministry says Ankara will reciprocate in kind with its own sanctions and tariffs.
“No one should doubt that Turkey will respond tit-for-tat to possible US sanctions,” said ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy, according to Turkish state media.
