Ankara on Friday accused the EU of adopting “misguided” resolutions condemning violence in Syria and Turkey and said the EU legislature was interfering in Turkey’s internal affairs.
European Parliament lawmakers on Thursday approved a resolution condemning violence against civilians in northeastern Syria and urging regional actors, especially Turkey, to avoid breaching the ceasefire there, whether through military action or support for armed groups.
Lawmakers also backed a separate resolution condemning what they called Turkey’s “harassment of foreign journalists and foreign Christians under national security pretexts.”
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the Syria resolution “disregards Turkey’s role in Syria’s recovery and stabilisation” and urged the European Parliament to better understand “the realities on the ground” and the aspirations of Syrians “rather than adopting misguided and ill intentioned resolutions.”
The ministry said allegations in the second resolution “contradict the facts,” adding that “no foreign institution, including the European Parliament, can interfere in judicial proceedings conducted in our country.”
Turkey has emerged as a key ally of Syria’s new leadership in Damascus and has backed its January offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been the main local partner of a Western-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, but faced mounting pressure from Damascus.
Under a deal announced this month, the SDF is set to integrate into the Syrian army, ending Kurdish hopes of keeping an autonomous area they established in northern and northeastern Syria during the country’s civil war from 2011 to 2024.
© Agence France-Presse
