Operation "Spring of Peace" in Syria .. Turkey threatens to reciprocate any US and European sanctions

Turkey has announced that it will resort to reciprocity in response to US and European threats of sanctions, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that he will not stop the military operation 'spring of peace' in northeast Syria, at a time when European countries seek to impose an arms embargo on Ankara to sympathize with Syrian Kurdish militias.

In response to the statement of the US Treasury Department that it is preparing to impose sanctions on Ankara, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamay Aksoy said that the US administration has been informed at all levels of the start of the military operation "spring of peace", and that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has made clear to the international community about the objective of this operation and the area to be covered .

"Turkey is fighting terrorist organizations that pose a threat to its national security, and this struggle will continue firmly. No one should doubt that we will respond to any step taken against our country in the context of reciprocity."

"We will never stop the step we have taken against the PYD and the Syrian Kurdish YPG," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul on Friday, stressing that the operation did not target Kurdish civilians.

He pointed out that Turkey receives threats from all sides and towards it says stop this progress, accusing the West of double standards with regard to the classification of terrorist organizations targeting his country.

Threats
Earlier on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin announced that President Donald Trump will sign a decree authorizing the Department to impose sanctions on Turkey, but without the current application. He added that the sanctions would be very strong and could paralyze the Turkish economy.

The minister noted that the president is worried about the "spring of peace" operation and that he would like to say clearly that Turkey must not allow any ISIS fighters to flee, referring to ISIS militants jailed in the area.

US lawmakers, led by the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Elliott Engel, presented a draft resolution yesterday to oppose Trump's decision to make way for Turkey in Syria and recognize the role of Kurdish forces in fighting the Islamic State.

If approved, the bill would be a non-binding measure, but it comes at a time of growing criticism of members of Congress for the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, French Commissioner for European Affairs Emily de Montchalin said the issue of possible sanctions against Turkey would be discussed at a summit of EU heads of state and government next week, but a decision was unlikely.

EU diplomats said Turkey was still a NATO member and needed to overcome the refugee crisis, and a consensus should be obtained to impose sanctions, which was difficult to achieve.

Some European countries are moving to consider arms embargoes unilaterally to Turkey. The Netherlands yesterday announced a moratorium on arms exports, preceded by Norway (which is not a member of the European Union) with a similar resolution on Thursday, and Sweden expressed support for an arms embargo on Turkey. All EU countries.