German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that she would discuss human suffering caused by Ankara's military offensive in Syria's north at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that she would discuss human suffering caused by Ankara's military offensive in Syria's north at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.French President Emmanuel Macron said he and the leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom planned to meet with Erdogan in London in the coming weeks.
Asked at a press briefing in Brussels why Germany did not criticize Turkish threats to unleash refugees on Europe, Merkel said that "We criticize different things... We do see the security interests of Turkey but on the other side we see human suffering caused by its military action in northeastern Syria."
"So we have carefully considered what we will say and condemn. I think we have been very clear in that regard. We will talk about it with the Turkish president and hopefully we will be able to secure a ceasefire, which all those involved think is a good idea," she added.
A 120-hour ceasefire in the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria was announced on Thursday by US Vice President Mike Pence. It will allow Syrian Kurdish militia to pull out of a 20-mile border area, which Turkey has designated as a "safe zone" and wants to move Syrian refugees to.
