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Turkey, west Balkans high on agenda at EU foreign ministers’ meeting

Turkey, west Balkans high on agenda at EU foreign ministers’ meeting

EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday are expected to deplore the Turkish offensive in Syria and vow to coordinate on imposing an arms embargo, Bloomberg has reported, though a decision is on Turkey is not expected until later this week.

Their statement condemning Ankara’s operation is expected to come after Germany and France on Saturday became the latest European countries to suspend arms exports to Turkey, following Finland, Sweden Norway and The Netherlands.

EU foreign ministers may also escalate the process of triggering sanctions on Turkish companies and individuals involved in drilling activities off the coast of Cyprus, Bloomberg said.

“Member-states will discuss how far they are ready to go on some measures that are on the table when it comes to the Turkish military activities in Syria but also the drillings in Cyprus,” European Commission Vice-President for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini told reporters as she arrived at the meeting.

The news agency added that the meeting is also expected to address the possibility of a compromise being found between member-states on the start of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

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