As the refugee crisis looms, Europe join hands against Turkey

As another refugee crisis looming over Europe. Nations joining hands against Turkish aggression in Syria. Since, the Syrian civil war, European nations have suffered most from the refugee influx, especially, Sweden which has taken more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

Swedish Parliament on Friday decided to push for a European Union weapons embargo against Turkey at an upcoming EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Thursday condemned Turkey’s military offensive in northeastern Syria.

“It violates international law, destabilises the situation and risks having great humanitarian consequences, not the least for the Kurds. The UN’s security council must immediately address the issue,” she said on Twitter.

Earlier, on Tuesday she tweeted on the worsening situation ahead of Turkish aggression, “Turkey’s actions are irresponsible and contravene international law. Risk serious humanitarian consequences and could lead to a resurgence of Daesh. The UN Security Council must immediately shoulder its responsibility to avert further escalation. Acting with EU partners.” 

Macron too acquired a tough stand over Turkish aggression saying, Turkey will be responsible for helping so-called Islamic State to re-establish a Caliphate in Syria. He called on the country to stop its military offensive against Kurdish forces the north of the country.

“Renewed armed hostilities in the northeast will further undermine the stability of the whole region, exacerbate civilian suffering and provoke further displacements [of people],” the statement, delivered by Juergen Schulz, Germany’s deputy ambassador to the UN, added.

Italy as one of the entrepots to the refugees across the Mediterranean, fears most by any crisis in the Middle East. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, “The European Union must not bow to threats from Turkey to push millions of Syrian refugees into EU countries, adding that Ankara should stop its military operations in northern Syria at once.

“The EU cannot accept this blackmail. Turkish efforts to welcome in Syrian refugees cannot then become a tool of blackmail for a military initiative that we cannot accept and which must immediately stop,” Conte told reporters.

Turkey, which still formally aspires to join the European Union despite mounting EU criticism of Ankara’s human rights record, has been stung by EU criticism of its air and land offensive against formerly U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

In a speech on Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told the European Union to “pull itself together” and threatened that if the bloc labelled the operation an occupation he would “open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees” to Europe.