The Canadian government announced on Tuesday that it is suspending the issuance of new export licenses to Turkey, mainly military equipment, in response to Ankara's attack in northern Syria, AFP reported.

The unilateral action threatens to undermine the fragile stability in the area, further damaging the humanitarian situation and damaging the achievements of the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group, in which Turkey also participates, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Due to developments, Canada is temporarily suspending new export licenses to Turkey" of "controlled products", mainly military equipment, the ministry said.

“This unilateral action risks undermining the stability of an already fragile region, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and rolling back progress achieved by the Global Coalition Against Daesh, of which Turkey is a member,” the statement read.

“We call for the protection of civilians and on all parties to respect their obligations under international law, including unhindered access for humanitarian aid.”

With this step, Ottawa joins several European countries that have announced similar measures.

According to the Foreign Office, in 2018, Canada sold weapons to Turkey for nearly $ 116 million ($ 80 million).

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