Turkey summons envoys of EU, Italy, Germany over search of ship heading to Libya
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The envoys of the European Union, Italy and Germany in the Turkish capital Ankara were summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night (November 23) in the wake of the search of a Turkey-flagged ship by a EU naval mission a day earlier.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal summoned the ambassadors of the EU and Italy as well as the German charge d'affaires, as the ambassador is away, said a ministry statement.
Turkey gave them a diplomatic note on Sunday's search of the MV Roseline A cargo ship under Operation Irini, a European mission launched earlier this year to enforce the UN arms embargo on the war-torn North African country of Libya.
The note said "the incident is against international law and that our rights to compensation are reserved," said the ministry.
The Operation Irini released a statement earlier, saying that the operation had made "good faith efforts" to get consent from Turkey in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
"Having received no answer from the flag State, the team of the German Frigate Hamburg boarded the vessel in international waters, approximately 160 nautical miles north of the port of Benghazi," it stated.
"The Master of the ship and its crew assumed a cooperative attitude towards the boarding team.
"When the flag State made it clear that it denied the permission to inspect the vessel, Operation IRINI suspended the activities during which no evidence of illicit material was found on board and the vessel was cleared to pursue its route."
The statement also said this was the operation's fifth boarding since it began and it was done as part of its mandate.
Ministry: The search was illegal
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated yesterday that the search of the vessel was "illegal."
"We deeply regret that our vessel, which as became apparent has not violated the arms embargo, was withheld from her route for hours under severe weather conditions and that during the inspection the crew were treated as if they were criminals," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy, denying that the ship has violated the UN arms embargo on Libya.
Aksoy stressed that Turkey protests the move, saying it was an "unauthorized and forceful act."
He said the incident might incur a demand for compensation for damages or losses, adding: "It is essential to obtain flag state consent before interfering with commercial ships in international waters. UN Security Council resolutions on the Libyan arms embargo do not overrule this obligation."
Having supported the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord in the war, Turkey has said the embargo is being enforced in a biased manner favoring the Tobruk-based government.
Libya has been torn by a civil war since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. (EKN/VK)
