EU governments limit arms sales to Turkey but avoid embargoOctober 14, 2019 - 18:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - European Union governments agreed on Monday, October 14 to limit arms exports to Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria, stopping short of a bloc-wide embargo on a NATO ally. Italy, the top arms exporter to Turkey last year, said it would join a ban on selling weapons and ammunition to Ankara after a weekend decision by France and Germany to suspend sales, and Spain signaled it was ready to do so. With a host of other countries including the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden halting such exports, the EU’s collective position was mainly aimed at avoiding a legally-binding embargo on Turkey, a longtime candidate to join the bloc. A full embargo would have grouped Turkey with Venezuela and Russia, countries where the EU has a formal ban and views them as hostile, a move diplomats said ministers were not ready to take despite anger at President Tayyip Erdogan. “We do not wish to support this war and do not want to make arms available,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters. In their statement after a four-hour-long debate in Luxembourg, ministers agreed to “commit to strong national positions regarding their arms export policy to Turkey.” Via Facebook, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on the sidelines of the meeting: “In the next few hours, Italy too will sign a ban on the export of arms to Turkey”. Belgium also said it backed stopping arms exports. The Turkish lira slid 0.8% on Monday in the face of U.S. and European threats of sanctions, though skeptical traders said it would weaken much further if Western allies turned words into action over Turkey’s incursion in Syria. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |