Germany Suspends Training of Peshmerga

A member of the Kurdish peshmerga just after the forces retook Zumar in October 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A member of the Kurdish peshmerga just after the forces retook Zumar in October 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
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Germany Suspends Training of Peshmerga

A member of the Kurdish peshmerga just after the forces retook Zumar in October 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A member of the Kurdish peshmerga just after the forces retook Zumar in October 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

Germany will suspend its mission training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq because of the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government, the German defense minister said on Wednesday.

Reuters said that Germany has been a major partner for the Iraqi Kurds. It has provided 32,000 assault rifle and machine guns, as well as other weapons valued at around 90 million euros since September 2014.

About 130 German soldiers are based in Erbil where they are providing training to the Kurdish fighters, the news agency said.

The German government, which agreed on Wednesday on three-month extension of seven other foreign assignments for its armed forces, suspended the training of the Kurdish fighters as it sought to "always ensure the unity of Iraq".

"We had agreed last Friday with the foreign office to pause the training so no wrong signal would be sent," Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.

The minister said the German mission of equipping and training the Kurds for their fight against ISIS was necessary and the right thing to do.

"We haven't forgotten how it looked like in 2014 when ISIS tried to commit genocide against the Yazidis and was around 10 km from Baghdad," she said.

The suspension of the training is temporary and resuming it will depend on daily examination of the situation in Iraq, said the government spokesman on Wednesday.

Germany had warned Iraqi Kurds against holding what it called a "one-sided" referendum and had urged Iraqi and Kurdish officials to avoid any steps that could lead to a further escalation of the situation.



Türkiye to Seek Lifting of Syria Sanctions, Erdogan Tells Sharaa

This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on April 11, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) during a meeting the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya. (Handout / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on April 11, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) during a meeting the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya. (Handout / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)
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Türkiye to Seek Lifting of Syria Sanctions, Erdogan Tells Sharaa

This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on April 11, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) during a meeting the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya. (Handout / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on April 11, 2025, shows Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shaking hands with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) during a meeting the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya. (Handout / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Türkiye will continue its diplomatic efforts to lift international sanctions against Syria, Erdogan’s office said.

During their meeting at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye, Erdogan said efforts should be increased to revitalize trade and economic cooperation with Syria and that Türkiye will continue to provide support to the country, the statement said.

Türkiye is an influential actor in neighboring Syria as opposition groups it supported during the civil war took power last December. However, the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad aggravated already tense relations between Türkiye and Israel, with their conflicting interests pushing the relationship toward a possible collision course.

When Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last month, he advised him to be “reasonable” in his dealings with Ankara.

Erdogan told the forum in Antalya: “We are in a state of understanding and close dialogue with influential actors in the region, especially Trump and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, in preserving the territorial integrity of Syria."

As if to underline this position, Sharaa sat just two places away from Erdogan’s seat in the hall.

It was Sharaa’s second trip to Türkiye as leader after Erdogan welcomed him to the capital Ankara in February.

In an apparent warning, Erdogan said that “no-one should misunderstand our cool-headedness and our stance of resolving issues through dialogue.”

The president has been a vocal critic of Israel’s operations in Gaza.