Germany under pressure to halt arms exports to Turkey

German MPs are calling for an arms embargo against Turkey after claims that German ‘Leopard’ tanks were deployed against Kurdish group, the YPG, during Turkey’s recent offensive in Afrin, Syria. The tanks were exported for use in the fight against so-called Islamic State (‘ISIS’) in the region.

The German government is reported to be considering a request from Turkey to approve upgrades to the Leopard tanks, made by German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, which would provide more protection from improvised explosives (reported in Der Spiegel). Norbert Röttgen, a member of Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrat party and chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight programme that the Turkish military operation was ‘illegal, contrary to international law and counter-productive with regard to fighting ISIS’, and that it was ‘completely obvious’ that Germany should not provide the upgrades.

Bilateral relations between the NATO allies have only recently been re-instated following a diplomatic row over the jailing of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel as part of President Erdogan’s widespread security crackdown, following the failed coup in 2016. In September, the Turkish Minister of Defence, Nurettin Canikli, accused the US and Germany of operating an undercover arms embargo against Turkey. Both countries have openly expressed concerns over alleged human rights abuses.