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3. Turkey Calls EU Statements on Syria 'Misguided'

Ankara on Friday accused the EU of adopting "misguided" resolutions condemning violence in Syria and Turkey and said the bloc was interfering in Turkish affairs.

European Union lawmakers had on Thursday voted in favour of two resolutions, one condemning violence against civilians in northeastern Syria and calling on regional actors, particularly Turkey, to refrain from breaching the ceasefire there, whether through military action or supporting armed groups.

Another resolution condemned Turkey's "harassment of foreign journalists and foreign Christians under national security pretexts".

The Turkish foreign ministry said the first resolution "disregards Turkey's role in Syria's recovery and stabilisation".

"We advise the European Parliament to exert greater effort to understand the realities on the ground and the aspirations of Syria and the Syrian people, rather than adopting misguided and ill-intentioned resolutions," it said in a statement.

It added that the allegations in the second resolution "contradict the facts".

"No foreign institution, including the European Parliament, can interfere in judicial proceedings conducted in our country," the ministry said.

Ankara is a key ally of the new leadership in Damascus, supporting its offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria which was launched in January.

Until now, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been the main partner on the ground of a Western anti-jihadist coalition, but under military pressure from Damascus they are to integrate into the Syrian army.

The agreement dashed the Kurds' hopes of retaining an autonomous zone they had established in northern and northeastern Syria during a civil war that ravaged Syria between 2011 and 2024.

AFP