- Title: France, Britain, Germany to condemn Turkish offensive in Syria
- Date: 9th October 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 7, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2019 16:48
- Keywords: Turkish offensive military Syria UN Security Council Montchalin
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002B0DNIVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: France, Britain and Germany are set to issue a statement strongly condemning Turkey's offensive in northeastern Syria, France's European affairs minister said on Wednesday (October 9).
The three European states were also considering whether to take the issue to the United Nations Security Council, Amelie de Montchalin said, although a diplomatic source cautioned that nothing had been decided yet.
Minister Amelie de Montchalin added that a separate European Union statement from the bloc's 28 states had yet to be agreed because some countries had not signed up to it. One source said Hungary had blocked the statement.
Turkey launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria on Wednesday just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area, with air strikes and artillery hitting YPG militia positions around the border town of Ras al Ain.
The move comes after a U.S. decision to withdraw from the region leaving Turkey to launch an offensive against Kurdish militants and rattling allies, including France, one of Washington's main partners in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.
(Production: Michaela Cabrera) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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