The following is a list of reactions to the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.
Reactions in Turkey A day prior to the operation, all Turkish opposition parties except the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) voted to extend the military's mandate on Syria. Opposition party leaders Meral Akşener (Good Party), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (Republican People's Party), and Temel Karamollaoğlu (Felicity Party), as well as the junior government partner, Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli, expressed their support for the military operation. Akşener, Kılıçdaroğlu, and Bahçeli were directly informed of the operation by Turkish President Recep Erdoğan immediately after its launch. On 14 October, Turkish Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar visited the opposition parties and informed them about the ongoing operation.
After the start of the operation, the opposition CHP began to criticize its implementation. A CHP spokesman lambasted Erdogan for "driving [Turkey] to the Middle East swamp" while CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu criticized the government for uniting the world against it with an "adventurous foreign policy."
Meanwhile, on 15 October Good Party leader Meral Akşener urged the government to make peace with Syria through dialogue with Bashar al-Assad.
The HDP condemned the operation from the start, calling it an "extremely dangerous and wrong step" and stating that "Turkey is being dragged into a dangerous and deep trap".
Erdoğan rejected international criticism and said referring to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen: "Let me start with Saudi Arabia. Look in the mirror first. ... Did tens of thousands of people not die in Yemen?" He also called Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi a "democracy killer" after the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called the offensive an "invasion."
Religious communities and organisations
Turkey's Jewish Community announced its support to the operation on a Twitter post. They stated: "We wish success in the fight against terror towards our state and our glorious army". The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Turkey said: "As The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Turkey, we wish that the Turkish Armed Forces will be successful in the Operation Peace Spring in north-eastern Syria, against the terrorist elements that threaten the survival of our country. And we hope that our hero soldiers will return to our country successfully." in a written statement. On 20 October 2019, representatives of the Syriac Catholic Foundation, Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, Chaldean Catholic community, and the Jewish community gathered in Mor Hananyo Monastery in a religious ceremony to support Operation Peace Spring.
Reactions in Syria
The Syrian government strongly condemned the Turkish attack, dubbing it a "disgraceful breach of international law and UN resolutions that respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity". A Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman told Al-Jazeera regarding the offensive, "Threats made by Turkey to attack the area is not something new, they have constantly done it for years. We as Syrian Democratic Forces take the matter into account and are fully prepared to fiercely respond to any imminent attack on Syrian soil." The Northern Democratic Brigade denounced the invasion as an attempt by Turkey to establish the "terrorist" Muslim Brotherhood as a ruling force in northern Syria. Syrian opposition The Syrian Turkmen Assembly stated: "As a result of the extermination and exile movement of the terrorist organization, the Turkmen presence in the east of the Euphrates had suffered a severe wound." The statement also underlined that the operation was a "mandatory and legitimate intervention". Ha'yat Tahrir al-Sham's leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa had previously stated prior to the start of the offensive that he would support a Turkish military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and that they were enemies of the Syrian revolution. However, HTS fighters have said they are concerned that the operation could enable the release of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters and their families from SDF detention camps and prisons, and that they would flee to HTS-held areas in Idlib and carry out attacks. Influential jihadist cleric Abu Anas al-Masri, based in Idlib Governorate, argued that the Turkish operation was to the overall benefit of the rebels in Idlib, because it would take Turkey's attention away from the region, weaken American influence in the Middle East, and result in two anti-jihadist factions (Turkey and the SDF) harming each other. He objected to rebels in Idlib assisting the offensive, as he views Erdogan as an apostate and an enemy of the Syrian people.
Religious communities and organisations Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo – Jean-Clément Jeanbart, the Greek-Melkite Archbishop of Aleppo, said that the Turkish offensive is "another source of violence we would rather have done without." Jeanbart said this is concerning because it will in fact lead to the creation of an extraterritorial pocket within another nation.
International reactions
Supranational – Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called the offensive a "blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty". The Arab League met in Cairo on 12 October 2019 to discuss Turkey's actions. Upon meeting, its member states voted to condemn the Turkish offensive, dubbing it both an 'invasion' and an 'aggression' against an Arab state, adding that the organization saw it as a violation of international law, which they deemed ought to attract international rejection. – On 8 October 2019, European Commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said that "the European Union remains committed to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state". High Representative Federica Mogherini issued a declaration on behalf of the EU on 9 October 2019 stating that "In light of the Turkish military operation in north-east Syria, the EU reaffirms that a sustainable solution to the Syrian conflict cannot be achieved militarily. The EU calls upon Turkey to cease the unilateral military action." President of the European Council Donald Tusk reprimanded Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for threatening to send millions of Syrian refugees to Europe and blasted the Turkish operation in northern Syria as destabilizing the region, which should halt. On the 11th, the EU began discussing on possible sanctions and arms embargoes of Turkey. On 14 October, EU member states unanimously adopted a resolution which "condemned in strong terms" the Turkish military offensive and committed to curb weapons exports to Turkey by committing to "strong national export positions", but stopped short of enforcing a mandatory EU-wide weapons embargo on Turkey, so as to "avoid placing an EU framework on NATO members". – Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Turkey is "at the forefront of the crisis and has legitimate security concerns", having suffered terrorist attacks and hosting millions of refugees. He added that NATO was informed by Turkish authorities about the ongoing operations in Northern Syria. He further stated that it was "important to avoid actions that may further destabilise the region, escalate tensions, and cause more human suffering." He called on Turkey to "act with restraint" and said that the gains made against ISIS should not be jeopardized.https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_169485.htm?selectedLocale=en by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the joint press point with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giuseppe Conte – In a joint declaration by its 5-member (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan) and 2 observer states (Hungary and Turkmenistan), Turkic Council voiced a strong support to the operation. "The leaders express their hope and belief that Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring will contribute to fighting terrorism, ensuring territorial integrity of Syria, liberating local Syrians from the oppression of terrorists and creating conditions for the safe and voluntary return of displaced Syrians to their homeland" was said in the declaration on the 7th summit of Turkic Council. – The UN cautioned regarding the offensive calling for the protection of civilians. Panos Moumtzis, the UN's Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, commented saying "Any (military) operation that takes place at the moment has to take into account to ensure that we don’t see any further displacement." António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN expressed his "deep concern" at the spiralling violence in Syria a day after Turkey launched an offensive in Kurdish-controlled areas. He said any solution to the conflict needed to respect the sovereignty of the territory and the unity of Syria. United Nations Security Council: Russia and the United States vetoed a statement introduced by five European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom) condemning Turkey's actions in Syria during a closed-door meeting. The statement has also called on Turkey "to cease the unilateral military action", claiming that the operation threatens progress against the Islamic State.
UN-member states
– Algeria expressed its rejection to the Turkish military operation in northern Syria and reaffirmed its "full" support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a statement which condemns "the military invasion by Turkey in north-east Syria, which would lead to deterioration of regional security, losses among civilians, mass displacement and eventually to a new humanitarian crisis. The plight of ethnic and religious minorities is of particular concern. This military invasion also creates an imminent threat of identity based grave and massive violations of human rights". Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during Cabinet meeting, that Armenia condemns the invasion of the Turkish armed forces in Syria. - Despite initially avoiding to make a statement on the offensive, Austria decided to back an arms embargo against Turkey on 14 October, following the adoption of the EU's common position. – Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that he was concerned for the safety of the Kurds living in the region and also feared that the offensive could result in a resurgence of ISIS. He condemned Turkey for the invasion. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on a written statement that 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria will serve to eliminate perceived the terror risks by the Azerbaijan government, return of refugees to their homes, solution of the humanitarian problems and providing peace and stability within the territorial integrity of Syria. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain strongly condemned the military attack by Turkey on areas in northeast of Syria. – The Belgian government condemned the Turkish military operation and called on Turkey to halt it immediately. It further added that it saw the Turkish military intervention as threatening the 'fragile political process' in Syria, as well as regional stability. Belgium later decided to implement an arms embargo against Turkey. – Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov initially urged Brussels to stop its criticism of Turkey, adding that "Bulgaria's relations with Turkey are good-neighbourly." Several days later on October 15, Bulgaria called for an end to the operation in favour of a diplomatic solution. – On 9 October 2019, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland stated on Twitter that Canada "firmly condemns Turkey’s military incursion into Syria today." Later, Canada suspended new arms sales to Turkey.