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E.U. Foreign Ministers to Hold Meeting on Iraq E.U. Foreign Ministers Back Military Support for Kurds in Northern Iraq
(about 7 hours later)
LONDON — With Iraq’s myriad crises unfolding at a rapid pace, foreign ministers of the European Union gathered in Brussels on Friday under pressure from some members of the 28-nation bloc to step up arms supplies to the country’s beleaguered Kurdish minority. BRUSSELS — Foreign ministers of the European Union on Friday unanimously endorsed the efforts of individual member states to provide military support to the beleaguered Kurds in northern Iraq, and welcomed attempts by United States forces to head​ o​​ff an escalation of the humanitarian crisis there.
There was little likelihood of unanimity. “We’re not prepared to take part in deliveries of weapons — that’s not an issue for us,” the Austrian foreign minister, Sebastian Kurz, told reporters as he arrived for the meeting. “As you know, we’re not a big weapons exporter, we’re not a big military power. We can help in other ways such as providing humanitarian aid and we’re doing that.” Called back from their summer vacations by Catherine Ashton, the union’s foreign affairs chief, the top diplomats of the 28-nation bloc had been seeking to forge a common response to the latest escalation of the crisis in Iraq, in which the semiautonomous Kurdish north has been threatened by militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
In Prague, the Czech authorities said they considered “the end of August as a realistic date for starting deliveries” of firearms and munitions, according to a Foreign Ministry statement quoted by Reuters. Speaking to reporters before the meeting here, Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, urged Europe “to mobilize itself.” France has already said it would supply arms to the Kurds. European opinion on how to respond has been particularly inflamed by the plight of thousands of Yazidis and Christians who have been driven from their homes by threats from ISIS fighters.
Germany, for its part, seemed more cautious but did not rule out supplying military equipment, reflecting a departure from its previous aversion to such transactions. A statement on the ministers’ conclusions on Iraq contained no mention of coordinated military assistance. Rather, it said they would continue to work on providing humanitarian aid and welcomed “the decision by individual member states to respond positively to the call by the Kurdish regional authorities to provide urgently needed military matériel.”
“Weapons are already being delivered by other countries,” the defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, said in an interview with the newspaper Bild on Friday, as a Germany military transport lifted off for northern Iraq laden with what were described as relief supplies. “We are at present examining what kind of further military equipment we can send,” she said. “The E.U. welcomes the U.S. efforts to support the Iraqi national and local authorities in their fight against ISIL and recognizes international and European responsibility to cooperate with Iraq in our common fight against terrorism,” the union statement said, using an alternate acronym for ISIS.
“The Kurds are familiar with weapons from the former Soviet Union, for example Kalashnikovs, and also heavy equipment,” she added, “Germany does not have such weapons and also could not deliver it at short notice.” In addition to the French, the Czechs and Italians were also said to be preparing military aid for Iraq, and the British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has said Britain would look “favorably” on Iraqi requests for arms to combat ISIS.
The talks in Brussels were scheduled a day after Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq said that he had agreed to relinquish power after days of pressure from the United States and of rumors in Baghdad that a military coup was in the offing. The meeting Friday came a day after Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq said that he had agreed to relinquish power after days of pressure from the United States and of rumors in Baghdad that a military coup was in the offing.
Ms. Ashton, speaking after the meeting, praised the “very statesmanlike way” in which Mr. Maliki had stepped aside to allow progress toward a political solution.
While the meeting did not yield any actual commitments on military aid, a senior European Union official characterized the unanimous decision to back such aid from individual members as a victory — and a necessary one at that, given that the union itself has no military forces of its own.
“I don’t know if there’s any precedent,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with protocol, “but it’s very important, and even up until today some member states had reservations” about providing arms.
The agreement was testament to the fact that “nobody underestimates the threat from ISIL,” he said. “The Baghdad authorities were very eager that we support the Kurds.”
Despite the united front on Friday, European Union members regularly struggle to agree on a coordinated response to military threats. One obstacle is Germany, which remains reluctant to test the limits of its policy prohibiting the export of weapons to conflict zones.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, said in an afternoon news conference here that the question of supplying weapons of any kind, the subject of an intense political debate in Germany, had become pressing “as it has become clearer in Europe and in Germany that the advance of the ISIS forces will not stop in Kurdistan” unless action is taken.
Mr. Steinmeier said he would fly to Baghdad and Erbil, in northern Iraq, after a short stop in Berlin, to meet with officials and observe the situation in person.
“The murderous actions and the military advance of ISIS must be halted,” Mr. Steinmeier said, adding that Europe must offer help with longer-term shelter and infrastructure, sanitation and emergency aid.
With Sunni Islamist militants threatening the country’s cohesion, the United States has suggested that Mr. Maliki’s departure might open the way to greater American military support.With Sunni Islamist militants threatening the country’s cohesion, the United States has suggested that Mr. Maliki’s departure might open the way to greater American military support.
In Europe, attention has focused on the plight of members of the Yazidi religious minority marooned on Mount Sinjar, near the Syrian border in northern Iraq, and on support for the Kurdish pesh merga forces confronting advances by the militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. European Christians have also reacted with horror to the widely reported persecution by ISIS of their co-religionists in northern Iraq. This week, American forces were reported to be drawing up plans for a full-scale rescue mission for Yazidis marooned on Mount Sinjar, near the Syrian border in northern Iraq, possibly including the creation of a humanitarian corridor. But the United States military has since said that an assessment of conditions on Mount Sinjar by a small team of Marines and special forces showed that the crisis there was effectively over. Yazidi leaders and emergency relief officials have rejected that assessment.
The newfound urgency in Europe came after France broke ranks with other European countries on Wednesday and said it would help arm Kurdish pesh merga forces confronting advances by ISIS. France and Italy are also reported to be pressing for a broader European commitment to supply the Kurds with matériel including body armor, night-vision equipment and ammunition.
Potentially deepening its commitment to countering the ISIS advance, Britain was reported on Thursday to be prepared to “favorably consider” any requests for military equipment to Kurdish forces. The move, reported by officials after a meeting of a high-level national security panel, reversed earlier reluctance to send military aid.
The shift came after France broke ranks with other European countries on Wednesday and said it would help arm Kurdish forces. France and Italy are also reported to be pressing for a broader European commitment to supply the Kurds with matériel including body armor, night vision equipment and ammunition.
“These are crises that are of concern to our European neighborhood, to our security and stability,” the Italian foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, said in Brussels.“These are crises that are of concern to our European neighborhood, to our security and stability,” the Italian foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, said in Brussels.
Britain had earlier positioned three Tornado warplanes for surveillance missions and a small number of Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters at a base in Cyprus, within range of the Kurdish region, and has dropped relief supplies to Yazidis fleeing ISIS forces on Mount Sinjar. Britain has also said it would help transport arms supplies from other countries.Britain had earlier positioned three Tornado warplanes for surveillance missions and a small number of Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters at a base in Cyprus, within range of the Kurdish region, and has dropped relief supplies to Yazidis fleeing ISIS forces on Mount Sinjar. Britain has also said it would help transport arms supplies from other countries.
Britain, like France, has strong historical ties to the region. In 1916, envoys from the two nations drew up a secret deal – the Sykes-Picot Agreement — during World War I, dividing the lands of the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence, in part as forerunners to the modern nations of Iraq and Syria. Britain, like France, has strong historical ties to the region. In 1916, envoys from the two nations drew up a secret deal — the Sykes-Picot Agreement — during World War I, dividing the lands of the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence; these became the forerunners to the modern nations of Iraq and Syria.
Video footage said to have been made by ISIS in recent days has shown its fighters tearing down border posts between Syria and Iraq and rejecting the 1916 delineation in favor of a single Islamic caliphate. Video clips said to have been made by ISIS in recent days show its fighters tearing down border posts between Syria and Iraq and rejecting the 1916 delineation in favor of a single Islamic caliphate.
The crisis in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq presents a more modern dilemma for European powers. Hundreds of young European Muslims are reported to have joined ISIS forces, and security services in Europe and the United States have expressed concern that some battle-hardened veterans could carry the struggle back to their homelands.The crisis in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq presents a more modern dilemma for European powers. Hundreds of young European Muslims are reported to have joined ISIS forces, and security services in Europe and the United States have expressed concern that some battle-hardened veterans could carry the struggle back to their homelands.
Some Europeans see Iraqi Kurdistan as a potential haven for religious and other minorities displaced by the ISIS advance. Others have been drawn to the notion of the Yazidis as hardy mountain people clinging fiercely to their culture despite years of efforts by host governments to extinguish it. Some Europeans see Iraqi Kurdistan as a potential haven for religious and other minorities displaced by the ISIS advance. Others have been drawn to the notion of the Yazidis as hardy mountain people clinging fiercely to their culture despite years of efforts by various governments to extinguish them.
But Western governments have also been anxious to avoid encouraging Kurdish separatism in a region where Kurdish minorities stretch across national frontiers.But Western governments have also been anxious to avoid encouraging Kurdish separatism in a region where Kurdish minorities stretch across national frontiers.
Some Europeans depict the conflict in Iraq as part of a much broader regional crisis. “It’s about a widening conflict between Sunnis and Shiites,” said Paddy Ashdown, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats in Britain, “and it’s time we joined the dots.”Some Europeans depict the conflict in Iraq as part of a much broader regional crisis. “It’s about a widening conflict between Sunnis and Shiites,” said Paddy Ashdown, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats in Britain, “and it’s time we joined the dots.”