German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that, in addition to the military operation in Syria, she expects to discuss the full range of issues at the next meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he plans to meet with Erdogan, Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.
At a press conference in Brussels, which was broadcast by German TV, Merkel answered the question why Germany did not resort to the threat of Turkey’s economic sanctions, especially in view of the threats from Ankara to let migrants into Europe.
“This is not at all connected with this. I spoke about this in the Bundestag. I defend this agreement between the EU and Turkey (on the placement of migrants in Turkey), Which refers to refugees, I don’t think it’s worth confusing with other questions”, – Merkel said in response to a question.
She added that EU countries and Germany criticize different political aspects in connection with Turkey, including respect for human rights, in particular the issue of detained journalists.
“On the one hand, we see Turkey’s concern about the security situation, on the other hand, we see the suffering of the population that takes place due to these military operations in the east of Turkey and Syria. We will talk about this with the Turkish president”, – she added.
On October 9, Erdogan announced the launch of Operation Source of Peace in northern Syria against the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Islamic State terrorist group. Syrian authorities have repeatedly condemned the occupation policy of Turkey in northern Syria. Russia stated that Turkey needs to avoid actions that could stand in the way of resolving the Syrian conflict, which has been ongoing since 2011.
Erdogan and US Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday agreed to suspend 120 hours of Turkish operation in Syria to withdraw Syrian Kurdish self-defense forces from the border with Turkey. Pence said the agreement implies the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the 30-kilometer security zone on the Turkish-Syrian border and that the United States will facilitate this process. The US vice president noted that US troops would not return to the area.