Following Turkey’s invasion of the Kurdish regions of Northern Syria, the UK has seized its sale of arms.
Since 2014, the UK has supplied £1.1 billion worth of arms to Turkey, weapons which may have been used in Syria.
The decision follows sharp criticism from both the UK Labour and Green party for the government’s initial reluctance to condemn Turkey’s actions during the EU foreign affairs council on Monday.
Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, told condemned Turkey’s actions stating;
“This is not the action we expected from an ally. It is reckless. It is counterproductive and plays straight into the hands of Russia, and indeed the Assad regime,”
Andrew Smith, from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, whilst supporting this decision said;
“This should also mark a turning point in UK foreign policy in Turkey […] In 2018 Turkish forces bombed Afrin and it made no difference to arms sales or military collaboration. If this move is to be more than symbolic then there can be no return to business as usual. It’s time that the rights of Kurdish people were finally put ahead of arms company profits.”
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