Government parties D66, ChristenUnie and CDA want Minister Stef Blok (Foreign Affairs) to commit to a European arms embargo against NATO ally Turkey. This is stated in a motion that will be submitted to the minister on Wednesday.
The arms embargo should be a punitive measure for Turkey’s involvement in, among other things, the recent violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The parties also do not want Turkey to be able to use European weapons in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The three government parties want the government within the EU to acquire support for the arms embargo and will submit a motion to this effect on Wednesday during the budget debate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Time and time again, Turkey has crossed the line. They violate the arms embargo in Libya and illegally drill for gas and oil in the sea of Greece,” said Joël Voordewind of the ChristenUnie.
Martijn van Helvert of the CDA says that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is letting his country “slide to the edge of a rogue state”. “It is bad that we have to, but we want the EU to impose an arms embargo on our NATO ally. We must protect innocent civilians.”
Also for Sjoerd Sjoerdsma of D66 the measure is full: “If Erdogan stirs up military conflicts instead of promoting stability, we must draw a clear line: no more weapons to Turkey as long as this continues.”
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