Germany approved arms deliveries to Turkey after Syria incursion

Germany approved millions of euros worth of arms deliveries to Turkey even after the Turkish incursion into Syria, according to the response to a parliamentary query fielded by Sevim Dagdelen of Die Linke (The Left) party.

In the nine and a half months between the start of the incursion on 9 October 2019 through 22 July 2020, the government gave the green light for deliveries worth 25.9 million euros. But there were no weapons of war among those exports, according to the response provided by the economics ministry.

Turkish troops entered northern Syria to combat the Kurdish YPG militia, which the government in Ankara regards as a terrorist organisation. The German government then imposed a partial arms export ban, which only applies to weapons and other military equipment that can be used in Syria.

Arms exports to Turkey are controversial not only because of the Syria offensive, but also because of Turkish participation in the Libya conflict.

According to the United Nations, Turkey is one of the countries that still fail to abide by the Libya arms embargo, even though they committed to it at the Berlin Libya summit in January.

Die Linke demands a complete moratorium on arms exports to Turkey. Dagdelen, a foreign policy expert, believes that the goods approved since October could also be made operational for use in Syria.

"The federal government is misleading the public when it claims that it does not approve armaments for Turkey that could also be used in Syria," she asserted.    (dpa)