Which Countries Have Stopped Arms Export to Turkey After Syria Operation?

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The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of European Union (EU) countries will meet today (October 14) and discuss possible sanctions against Turkey.

Ahead of a European Council meeting scheduled for October 17-18, EU ministers will discuss both Turkey's Operation Peace Spring into northern Syria and its drilling activities in Mediterranean.

After a press conference to be held today, EU leaders will have the final word after meeting in Brussels on October 17-18.

Ahead of this meeting, we have compiled which countries have stopped or suspended arms export to Turkey and which country wants an embargo.

Who has stopped/suspended?

UK has halted new defense export licenses to Turkey

Minister of Foreign Affairs of UK Dominic Raab has announced that he condemns the operation launched by Turkey into northern Syria and defined the operation as "an attack against the independence of Syria".

"The UK government takes its arm export control responsibilities very seriously and in this case, of course, we will keep our defense exports to Turkey under very careful and continual review", Raab has indicated and added,

"No further export licences to Turkey for items that might be used in military operations in Syria will be granted while we conduct that review."

Italy: A diplomatic solution should be found

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Luigi Di Maio has also confirmed that his country will impose an arms embargo on Turkey. Speaking at the Parliament, he has indicated that "a diplomatic solution should be found for the Syria crisis, rather than a military solution".

Finland has stopped arms sale

On October 9, when Turkey started its operation into northern Syria, Finland Prime Minister Antti Rinne condemned the offensive and announced that they have stopped the arms sale to Turkey.

Czechia has suspended export licenses

Czechia Minister of Interior Jan Hamace has made a statement on Twitter and announced that the country has "suspended military equipment export licenses to Turkey".

Germany and France have suspended

Making a statement on the fourth day of the operation, both Germany and France announced that they have suspended arms sale to Turkey.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Heiko Maas said, "Due to Turkish army's operation into north-east Syria, the Federal Government will not allow the sale of any military supplies that could be used by Turkey in Syria."

According to the figures for 2018, Germany exported 243 million Euro worth of arms to Turkey throughout 2018.

Sharing a brief message on Twitter, President of France Emmanuel Macron also stated, "I most firmly condemn the unilateral military offensive that is underway in Syria. I call on Turkey to put an end to it as quickly as possible. Turkey's action poses a humanitarian risk to millions of people."

I most firmly condemn the unilateral military offensive that is underway in Syria. I call on Turkey to put an end to it as quickly as possible. Turkey’s action poses a humanitarian risk to millions of people.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 10, 2019

Norway has suspended export licenses for military products

Making a statement on October 10, Foreign Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Søreide said,

"As the situation is unclear and changing rapidly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – as a precautionary measure – will not process new applications for export licenses for military and multi-use military products to Turkey for the time being"

"We are now also reviewing all valid licenses for military and multi-use military export licenses in Turkey", the Minister added.

The Netherlands has suspended arms export

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands also called on Turkey to stop the operation and announced that they have suspended arms export to the country.

Sweden has demanded embargo

Ann Linde, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, said on October 11, "I will propose to parliament that Sweden at the EU meeting of Foreign Ministers should push for a weapons embargo against Turkey".

Countries that support / do not support the operation

• Three countries have expressed support for Turkey's Operation Peace Spring so far: Azerbaijan, Qatar and Pakistan.
• 28 EU countries released a joint statement on October 9, requesting an end to the operation. Hungary was late to approve the joint statement of the EU against the operation, announcing that "they support the efforts to send back refugees".
• Arab countries, except for Qatar, (Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) released statements, harshly criticizing the operation.
• The first statement of Russia came from Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. While he expressed commitment to Syria's territorial integrity, he still did not use clear remarks. As for President Vladimir Putin, he said that Turkey's military operation in northern Syria could lead to the revival of the ISIS group. "I'm not sure whether the Turkish army will be able to take this under control and how soon. This is a real threat to us," he told reporters on a visit to Turkmenistan. Putin stressed that "Kurdish military groups" who were guarding the ISIS fighters are now fleeing and that could pave the way for them to regroup. "They could just run away," he said.
• The most complicated messages came from the US. While President Donald Trump described the operation as "a bad idea" and an "invasion", he still did not use a clear word suggesting that he is openly against the operation.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Cevad Zarif expressed their "readiness to ensure the Adana Agreement is put into effect to reduce the tension in the region".
• In response to the news that Palestine condemns the operation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki indicated that "Palestine had not released any statement and would not release any about what happened on the northern border of Syria".
• Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter, "Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies. Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people."
• China and Russia blocked the joint call to be made by the United Nations (UN) Security Council to stop the Operation Peace Spring into north-east Syria.

(PT/SD)