- Title: I've urged Turkey to end its operation in northern Syria, Merkel says
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MERKEL SPEAKING
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 08:12
- Keywords: Bundestag Merkel lower house of parliament Turkey weapons Syria China-EU summit
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
- Reuters ID: LVA003B1HIO93
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday (October 17) that Germany would not deliver any weapons to Turkey under current circumstances and added that she had urged Turkey several times to end its military operation in northern Syria.
"Several times in recent days I have strongly urged Turkey - including during personal talks with the Turkish president - to end its military offensive against the Kurdish military (YPG) and I'm stressing that again now," Merkel told Germany's lower house of parliament.
"It's a humanitarian drama with huge geopolitical effects so Germany will not deliver any weapons to Turkey under the current conditions," she added.
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces before a Turkish offensive into northern Syria last week has shattered the relative calm there and he has been accused of abandoning Kurdish militia who helped the United States fight Islamic State militants in the region.
Merkel also said that she wanted to discuss an EU budget discount for Germany after Brexit as Germany would be "disproportionately burdened" by an increase in the bloc's budget.
Merkel underlined that Germany would make relations with China a key issue during its 2020 EU presidency.
Germany takes over the rotating six-month presidency in the second half of 2020.
(Production: Bettina Borgfeld, Ulrike Heil) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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