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German top diplomat to visit Turkey for talks on Syria

October 24, 2019 at 8:00 pm

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on 23 September 2019 in Berlin, Germany. [Abdülhamid Hoşbaş/Anadolu Agency]

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced on Thursday that he will visit Ankara on 26 October to discuss Turkey’s military operation in northeastern Syria, Anadolu Agency reports.

Addressing lawmakers at the German parliament during a debate on the Middle East, Maas criticised Turkey’s military operation against the YPG in northern Syria, but underlined the importance of dialogue between Ankara and Berlin.

“It’s always better to talk to each other instead of talking about each other, therefore I will be traveling to Ankara on Saturday,” he said, adding that he will meet with his Turkish counterpart and other officials and share Germany’s expectations on Syria.

The Social Democrat politician expressed concerns over the protection of civilian population in northeastern Syria, stability in the region and future of UN-led talks for a political solution to end Syria’s devastating eight-year civil war.

READ: Trump says Turkey’s ceasefire in northern Syria now permanent, sanctions lifted

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative-left coalition government had acknowledged Ankara’s security concerns in the region but criticized Turkey’s military incursion in northwestern Syria, claiming that it might lead to a “humanitarian crisis, deepen instability” in the region.

Opposition parties have sharply criticised the government for not taking a harsher stance against Ankara, and not imposing economic sanctions.

After strong opposition by the US administration to the operation, Ankara and Washington reached a deal on Oct. 17 to pause the operation for 120 hours to allow the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG from the planned safe zone.

On Tuesday, Turkey also reached an agreement with Russia on a 10-point plan to create a terror-free safe zone in northern Syria and they reiterated their commitment to the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

According to the agreement, the YPG will pull back 30 kilometres from Turkey’s border within 150 hours and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.

Turkey considers the YPG as linked to the PKK and both to be terrorist organisations.