THE HAGUE: The Netherlands is to freeze all weapons exports to Turkey inthe aftermath of Ankara’s assault on Kurdish forces in northern Syria, theDutch foreign ministry said Friday.
“The Netherlands have now decided to withhold all licence applications forthe export of military goods to Turkey pending the course of thesituation,” the ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.
The move comes in the wake of foreign minister Sigrid Kaag’s announcementin the Dutch parliament Thursday that all military licence applications byTurkey would be turned down “unless there is clear proof that the goods arenot being used in northeastern Syria”.
The Netherlands, which is part of an international coalition against ISISand a fellow NATO partner with Turkey also called on EU member states to“exercise restraint and closely follow the criteria for arms exports” toTurkey.
The Netherlands is responsible for about eight percent of Europe’s totalarms exports to Turkey, according to figures by the Amsterdam-basedresearch and campaign organisation Stop Wapenhandel.
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This included mainly parts for tanks and armoured vehicles, as well astechnology and parts for fighter planes and attack helicopters, StopWapenhandel said in a report released in 2017.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on Wednesday summoned Ankara’s envoy toprotest Turkey’s deadly offensive against Kurdish forces, effectivelytriggered this week by President Donald Trump’s order to pull back USforces from the Syrian border.
The third such Turkish operation since the start of the war in Syria, wasmet with fierce international condemnation over what many saw as theblatant betrayal of a faithful ally. -APP/AFP
