Ankara is furious, scolded by EU, Italy and Germany diplomats
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlot Chebushalou
Photography:
AFP
Turkey between the hammer and the anvil:
About two weeks after the resignation of Finance Minister and President Erdogan's son-in-law, Brat Albirak, following the collapsing economy - Ankara finds itself facing new tensions with the EU, and this time not because of its initiative.
On Sunday evening, the forces of the German warship "Hamburg", which is under EU command, decided to stop a Turkish cargo ship called "Ruslina-A" which was on its way to Libya.
No weapons were found in the cargo ship with the Turkish flag that was apparently innocent and carried paints and humanitarian equipment on the way to Miserata, but the documentation of the German soldiers conducting the check on the ship - led to great Turkish anger.
Photo: Reuters
Today, the European Union commands Operation Irini (peace in Greek), which aims to prevent the entry of weapons and foreign fighters into Libya - as part of an attempt to maintain a ceasefire in the divided country. Accompanied by Turkish naval vessels, ostensibly their destination is Tunisia, in the middle of the sea they turned off the respondent's location and headed towards the territory controlled by their allies in Libya.
The rise of German naval forces to the Turkish cargo ship is not the first confrontation between Turkey and EU forces in the lobbying context.
On June 10, long before tensions over the Charlie Hebdo cartoons between Ankara and Paris, a French naval ship under NATO command wanted to test a cargo ship with a Tanzanian flag escorted by Turkish warships. , But Turkish navy soldiers had already locked one of the missile launchers on the French ship.
Turkish Navy Ships / Photo: Reuters
Despite the fundamental difference between the incident with the French navy and the incident with the German navy - in Ankara they were furious.
"I strongly condemn this illegal act," Turkish Vice President Poet Octai was quick to respond.
Immediately afterwards, Ankara chose a typical move - reprimand calls to senior diplomats.
One after another, EU Ambassador Nicolaus Meyer-Landroth, Italian Ambassador Massimo Gianni, and the second Secretary of the German Embassy were reprimanded.
And already this morning (Tuesday), Turkey, which is trying to encourage foreign investment, against the background of the collapsing economy, has returned to the pro-Western tone in which it expresses its desire to join the European Union.
"We expect the EU to understand its mistakes," said Foreign Minister Mevlot Chebushalou. "They need to understand the added value of our accession to the EU."
At the same time, another issue in which Ankara is trying to minimize damage is the murky relationship between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President-elect Joe Biden. In this regard, Chebashoulo claimed that “Turkey will make every effort necessary to promote the "Relations with the United States are in a positive direction, in line with strategic needs."
He said these things after Turkish pro-Erdogan commentator on the Horite, Nadim Shner, announced on a television broadcast a few days ago that "Turkey must be ready for war with America. I say this all the time. We must be ready to defend our interests in the region. ".
Soldiers of Turkey's Allies in Libya, Army of Consent Government / Photo: AFP
"Turkey has become a regular suspect in what is happening in Libya," Dr. Chai Eitan Cohen Inrojek, a modern Turkish researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, told Israel Today.
He said, "The German mistake was that they chose to inspect a Turkish cargo ship unaccompanied by the Navy, and what this indicates is the reports that they did not find any weapons on the ship.
"Beyond that, it should be understood that the person who gave the order to the German ship was a Greek officer, and in the opinion of the Turks - the Greeks, who cannot afford to carry out such operations with their own forces, are sending EU forces on the mission."
Regarding the state of the Turkish economy, Dr. Cohen Inrojek added that "the very resignation of former finance minister Albayrak has led to a certain recovery of the pound, but still - we have not yet seen any real reforms.
Apparently, a presentation was made to President Erdogan in which they illustrated to him how bad the economic situation was.
That is, in order to recover from the deterioration of the Turkish economy, Ankara must encourage foreign investment.
In an attempt to do so, the Turks are trying to convey stability. "