- Title: France's Macron criticises NATO reaction over Turkish offensive
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) JOURNALIST FILMING ON SMARTPHONE
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 14:24
- Keywords: Johnson Emmanuel Macron NATO Turkey Merkel Syria Kurdish forces Erdogan offensive
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: France
- Topics: NATO,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA005B1MLBNR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: France's president on Friday (October 18) said Turkey's offensive into northern Syria was "madness" and decried the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) inability to react to the assault as a "serious mistake."
Macron said he had discovered the U.S. decision to withdrawal from northern Syria through Twitter and that, coupled with Ankara's unilateral offensive, it was making Europe a junior ally in the Middle East.
Macron added that he, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in the coming weeks, most likely in London.
(Production: Ardee Napolitano, Johnny Cotton) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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