Germany does not see a legal justification for Turkey’s operation against Kurds in northern Syria, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said on Monday, according to Reuters.
“As things stand, we cannot see how the current situation in Syria could legitimize a military intervention directed against Kurdish groups,” the spokesman told a regular news conference in Berlin.
A spokesman for Germany’s chancellery said although Berlin recognized that Turkey has legitimate security interests, it could not see how a military intervention could help stabilize the region.
On Sunday Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that regardless of Turkey’s legitimate security interests, the offensive threatens to displace a large part of the local population, destabilize the region and lead to the resurgence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Xinhua reported.
Earlier Wednesday, Turkey launched military operations targeting Kurdish forces in several parts of northeastern Syria after the US started pulling its troops out.