Merkel Calls for Immediate End to Turkey Operations in Syria

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an immediate end to Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Merkel told Erdogan that, regardless of justified Turkish security interests, the incursion risks displacing a large part of the local population, destabilizing the region and leading to a resurgence of Islamic State, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a statement. The call was made at Erdogan’s request, she said.

The two leaders also discussed Turkish gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the statement, which didn’t elaborate.

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