UK to review arms sales to Turkey: Financial Times

UK to review arms sales to Turkey: Financial Times
October 15, 2019, 10:15 am

The move has not yet been formally announced but a full review into sales of arms to Turkey has been ordered by British ministers, according to the FT. (File photo AP)

Britain is reviewing its arm sales to Turkey in response to the Turkish military offensive in northeastern Syria, according to a report by the British newspaper The Financial Times (FT).

The move has not yet been formally announced but a full review into sales of arms to Turkey, which could potentially be used in the operation in Syria, has been ordered by British ministers, according to the FT. While the review is ongoing, new licenses will be suspended, the FT said, without naming a source.

The move comes after the Italian Foreign Ministry also announced on Tuesday that it will be imposing a ban on arms exports to Ankara, adding that a military operation in Syria is not a solution.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte previously said on Sunday he would press for an EU ban on arms sales to Turkey, as Ankara continued its attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

On the same day, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday he will meet with NATO allies next week to press them to take “diplomatic and economic measures” in response to Turkey’s incursion into Syria.

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