NATO: Turkey-France tension in Mediterranean to be investigated
* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive
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According to the accounts of an official from the Defense Ministry of France, the frigate "Courbet" of the country was "lit up" three times by Turkey's naval targeting radar when it tried to approach a civilian ship from Turkey, suspected of involvement in arms trafficking.
As reported by France24, the ship was being escorted by three warships from Turkey. The Courbet backed off after being targeted.
France has claimed that under the alliance's rules of engagement such conduct is considered a hostile act and complained to the NATO.
The "Courbet" frigate was reportedly a part of NATO's naval operation in the Mediterranean, Sea Guardian, at the time of the incident on June 10.
NATO: The incident will be investigated
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the reporters following the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers by yesterday (June 18).
In response to a question from a journalist as to "the steps to be taken by the NATO to investigate the incident and to prevent any further similar incidents," Stoltenberg has announced that the incident will be investigated.
"The incident in the Mediterranean was addressed in the meeting by several Allies," he has underlined and added:
"My message is that we have made sure that NATO military authorities are investigating the incident to bring full clarity into what happened. I think it is the best way now to deal with thitat, to clarify actually what happened.
"When it comes to UN resolutions, UN arms embargo, NATO, of course, supports the implementation of UN decisions, including UN arms embargoes. As I stated for many times on behalf of the Alliance, of course, we not only support the implementation of the UN decisions, but we also support the efforts of the UN to find a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict."
'We are not a destructive country like France'
Making a statement about the issue, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that "France has been blown off course following Turkey's Operation Peace Spring" into Syria. "If you treat a NATO ally like this, then, you get something in return," he has added.
"The necessary measures have been taken. France gives the largest amount of weapons there. We are supporting the legitimate government. France is supporting the putschist side," Çavuşoğlu has argued.
"The NATO says that 'Russia has expanded in the Mediterranean.' It is because of France. France has been doing this against the NATO. We see what France is trying to do in Niger.
"There is chaos in several places now. The reason for that is France. We are not a destructive country like France. What France is doing is concerning. The statements are out of place and hollow."
Turkey - Libya/GNA RelationsSince the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: One in eastern Libya, the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar, and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition, the Government of National Accord (GNA). The government and western parts of the country have been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with over 1,000 killed. On November 27, 2019, Ankara and Tripoli reached two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU), one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. Following the military cooperation deal, President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara might consider sending troops to Libya if the Tripoli government made such a request. Having convened to discuss a motion on military deployment to Libya in early January 2020, the General Assembly of the Parliament of Turkey has passed the motion by a vote of 325 against 184. In the statement issued after the meeting of the National Security Council on June 2, it was announced that "the military consultancy services provided by Turkey to Libya's United Nations (UN)-recognized legitimate government, which endeavors to protect Libya's political unity and territorial integrity and to ensure peace and tranquility across the country, will be continued." "The international community is called on to take a principled stance against shady groups, which usurp the will of Libyan people and target Libya's legitimate government," the statement read further. |
(PT/SD)