Czech Republic, Slovakia urge sanctioning the Turkish regime over its aggressive practices

Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Republic Katrjina Konichna has called for sanctioning the Turkish regime for its aggressive practices in the region and its continuous attempts to blackmail the European Union (EU) over the refugee crisis.

In a statement to the Czech TV last night Konichna said that “it is time to move from accusing the Turkish regime to sanctioning it and stopping some of the EU financial programs supporting this regime”

The European Parliamentarian criticized the double standards policy pursued by the EU, clarifying that the EU stands against Belarus and imposes sanctions against it while it always ignores the suppressive practices of the Turkish regime against its opponents which include arresting parliamentarians and presidential candidates in Turkey.

She reiterated that Turkey is not a member of the European Union, and its presence on the list of candidate countries to join it is “completely meaningless.”

 Yesterday, Deputy Speaker of the Czech House of Representatives Tomio Okamura called on the Czech government to work inside the EU to impose sanctions on Erdogan’s regime, because of its aggressive policies in the region and its contribution to the recent escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the meantime, Prime Minister of Slovakia Igor Matovic called for taking decisive measures against the Turkish regime’s aggression on Greece and Cyprus, the two member states of the European Union.

“It is time for Slovakia and the European Union to face the Turkish regime and make it understand that the borders of Cyprus and Greece are the borders of the European Union,” Matovic said in a statement on Wednesday following his participation in the EU summit in Brussels, reiterating that the Turkish regime should stop interfering in the affairs of the two countries and violating their sovereignty.

Hamda Mustafa