Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar warned on Sunday that the forces of Khalifa Haftar and their supporters based in eastern Libya would be viewed as “legitimate targets” if they attempted to attack Turkish forces in the region. Turkey is the main foreign backer of Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National …
Read More »Turkey makes military, soft power inroads into the Maghreb
Turkey is boosting its influence across North Africa, analysts say, intervening militarily in war-torn Libya and using “soft power,” trade and investment in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. While Turkish-made drones have won battles in Libya, its soap operas and other cultural products have won hearts and minds in Maghreb countries, …
Read More »Turkey extends law keeping Turkish troops in Libya
Turkey’s parliament extended for 18 months a law that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. The bill renewed a one-year mandate that came into force in January following a security and military agreement with the UN-backed administration in Tripoli, in western Libya. The Turkish decision Tuesday comes in …
Read More »EU committed to sanctioning Turkey in East Med dispute
EU foreign ministers will evaluate grounds for sanctions against Turkey over a Mediterranean gas dispute on Monday before the bloc’s leaders decide whether to make good on their threat to impose punitive measures. Ministers will not take decisions at their meeting on Monday, leaving that to Thursday’s summit of EU …
Read More »Turkey defies NATO with more East Med exploration
Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara. NATO members Turkey and Greece have conflicting claims to continental shelves and rights to potential energy resources …
Read More »EU, Macron move to punish Turkey over Cyprus
The European Parliament urged the EU on Thursday to impose sanctions on Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan this month paid a visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of Cyprus. With 631 votes in favour, three against and 59 abstentions, the parliament agreed a non-binding resolution in support of EU …
Read More »Erdogan to push two-state solution with North Cypriot allies
Turkish President Erdogan visited breakaway Northern Cyprus on Sunday to meet its newly elected leader who backs his call for a “two-state” solution to the divided island’s five-decade conflict if U.N.-mediated talks yield no results. With Turkey’s support, former prime minister Ersin Tatar won a tight presidential vote last month …
Read More »Egypt and France in joint naval exercise in Turkey’s East Med
Egyptian and French naval forces have carried out a joint naval training exercise in the northern Mediterranean amid growing tensions between the two countries and Turkey over Ankara’s gas exploration ambitions in the region. Two frigates were involved in the joint exercise, which is part of the Egyptian armed forces’ …
Read More »Common earthquake rocks old foes Greece, Turkey
Nineteen people were killed in Turkey and Greece after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on Friday, bringing buildings crashing down and setting off tidal waves which slammed into coastal areas and islands. People ran onto streets in panic in the Turkish city of Izmir, witnesses said, after the …
Read More »Turkey extends remit of East Med gas exploration, defying Greece, NATO
Turkey has extended the seismic survey work of its Oruc Reis ship in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean until Nov. 4 – a move that Greece condemned on Sunday as “illegal”. Turkey said Greece’s accusation was “baseless” as tensions between the NATO members flared again in a dispute …
Read More »Hezbollah, Amal set down firm limits to Israel-Lebanon talks
Lebanon’s Hezbollah and its ally Amal criticised on Wednesday the delegation set to negotiate with Israel over their disputed sea border, calling for changing the team hours before the first meeting. Formally still at war after decades of conflict, Lebanon and Israel agreed to launch talks via U.S. mediation over …
Read More »US joins EU in condemning Turkey in East Med
The United States on Tuesday slammed Turkey’s renewed push to send a vessel to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, accusing Ankara of unilaterally stoking tensions and “deliberately” complicating the resumption of talks with Greece. “The United States deplores Turkey’s October 11 announcement of renewed Turkish survey activity …
Read More »Maritime talks begin between Israel, Lebanon
Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters. The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the …
Read More »Uzbekistan becomes a country of tourists
Tourism in Uzbekistan has always drawn people from far and wide. For anyone who knows about the country, this is easy to understand – bright colours, intricate patterns, rich flavours, and friendly people await every visitor. Traces remain of great empires that have long since been blown away by the …
Read More »US mediating Lebanon-Israeli maritime dispute
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute along the border between the two nations that have fought several conflicts. Still in a formal state of war, Lebanon and Israel have contested their land and maritime borders for decades, namely over …
Read More »Maduro celebrates second US sanctions-busting Iranian tanker
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday pledged to improve gasoline output and distribution in the fuel-starved nation, as the second of three Iranian tankers carrying fuel entered the South American country’s waters. The once-prosperous OPEC nation is struggling under a collapsing oil industry and U.S. sanctions that have crippled imports …
Read More »More sparring between Egypt and Turkey
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has condemned derogatory remarks made by the Turkish foreign minister, days after a Turkish attempt to open a dialogue with Egypt was rejected by Cairo. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Hafez, denounced the foreign minister’s comments made in a conversation with a …
Read More »Turkey switches from East Med to Black Sea for natural gas
Turkey will send a second drill ship to operate in the Black Sea, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Sunday, weeks after Ankara announced its largest ever natural gas discovery in the area. “Our drill ship Kanuni, whose preparation work is continuing, will start drilling in the Black Sea,” he …
Read More »Russian ambitions in East Med dispute coincide with petroleum strategy
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Cyprus on Tuesday that Moscow was ready to help mediate in any talks with Turkey over energy exploration in the east Mediterranean Sea. A decades-old rift between Turkey and Cyprus, which is backed by Greece, has come to a head this year in disputes …
Read More »Erdogan says East Med issues puts EU to the test
President Tayyip Erdogan told European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday the EU’s stance towards the East Mediterranean would be a test of its sincerity, calling on it to take an impartial stance in Turkey’s row with Greece. NATO allies Turkey and Greece have been locked in a dispute over …
Read More »East Med situation escalates as Erdogan exchanges threats with Greece
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued new threats to Greece on Saturday as Turkish forces prepared to conduct military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean amid tension over oil and gas rights. The temperature has soared in the dispute between the two countries since Turkey deployed a research vessel and an …
Read More »NATO mediating Greece, Turkey East Med dispute
Greece and Turkey have agreed to talks to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, part of efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources in the region. Germany is also leading a diplomatic push for broader dialogue and German Chancellor Angela …
Read More »UN report charges Russian with escalation of mercenary aid in Libya
Russia has stepped up its logistic support for private military contractor Wagner Group in Libya with some 338 military cargo flights from Syria in the nine months to July 31 to aid Wagner fighters backing eastern-based Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters on Wednesday. …
Read More »EU threatens sanctions for Turkey East Med drilling
The EU on Friday urged Turkey to halt its drilling activities in contested waters in the Mediterranean and ordered EU officials to speed up work aimed at blacklisting some Turkish officials linked to the energy exploration. Tensions are mounting to breaking point between Turkey and Greece over Turkey’s drilling work …
Read More »In further provocation, Turkey conducts military exercises off Cyprus
Turkey said it will hold a military exercise off northwest Cyprus for the next two weeks, amid growing tension with Greece over disputed claims to exploration rights in the east Mediterranean. The long-running dispute between Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, flared up after the two countries agreed rival accords …
Read More »NATO to keep Greece, Turkey dispute spinning out of control
NATO is looking at ways to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean while supporting German diplomatic efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources there, the alliance’s chief said on Thursday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval …
Read More »Trump interceding between Turkey, Greece dispute
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump talked on the phone on Wednesday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including the Mediterranean, Erdogan’s office said. Tensions between Turkey and Greece have escalated since Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a …
Read More »Greece, Turkey on collision course in territorial, energy dispute
Greece plans to extend the western limit of its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 miles, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. The conservative premier said a bill on the matter would be submitted to parliament very soon. “Greece will extend its western territorial waters to 12 …
Read More »Turkey to become major gas producer with Black Sea discovery
Turkey announced its biggest ever natural gas discovery on Friday, a 320 billion cubic metre (11.3 trillion cubic feet) Black Sea field which President Tayyip Erdogan said was part of even bigger reserves and could come onstream as soon as 2023. If the gas can be commercially extracted, the discovery …
Read More »Germany wants Libya oil blockade ended
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the need for an immediate end to the blockade of oil facilities in Libya at a meeting in Tripoli on Monday. NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla met Maas and they discussed the economic and environmental damage of the blockade, …
Read More »Turkish, Greek warships face off as international players take sides – UPDATED
President Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece on Friday that Turkey will retaliate against any attack on its survey vessel Oruc Reis in the eastern Mediterranean in an escalating row between the NATO allies over gas and oil exploration in the region. Turkey and Greece are vehemently at odds over overlapping claims …
Read More »Egypt says Turkish drilling threat to sovereign waters
Egypt said on Saturday that part of a seismic survey planned by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean potentially encroached on waters where Cairo claims exclusive rights. An advisory issued last month by Turkey for the survey overlaps with Egypt’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), constituting “a violation and an attack on …
Read More »Turkey-Russia want total ceasefire in Libya, Haftar must comply
Turkey and Russia agreed on Wednesday to keep pushing for a ceasefire in Libya, but Ankara said the leader of the eastern forces was not legitimate and his forces must withdraw from key positions for any credible deal to emerge. The two countries are the main power brokers in Libya’s …
Read More »Greece charges Turkey with trespassing on seaways
Greece accused Turkey on Tuesday of attempting to encroach on its continental shelf in a serious escalation of tensions between the two NATO allies at odds over a range of issues. Turkey and Greece are at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources, brought into sharper focus by attempts of …
Read More »Qatar, Turkey, Trump all taking positions as Egypt prepares for Libya intervention
Qatar’s state minister for defense affairs met on Monday with the Turkish defense minister and Libya’s minister of interior to discuss the latest developments in Libya, Qatar’s ministry of defense said on Twitter. Egyptian lawmakers approved on Monday the deployment of armed forces in combat missions abroad giving President Sisi …
Read More »Egypt parliament to decide on military intervention in Libya
Egypt’s parliament is to vote Monday to authorize the president to deploy troops to neighboring Libya if Turkey-backed forces there, allied with the UN-supported government in Tripoli, move to retake the strategic coastal city of Sirte. An Egyptian intervention would further destabilize oil-rich Libya, and put two US allies — …
Read More »Pompeo threatens Russian pipeline project with sanctions
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday warned investors in two Russian natural gas pipeline projects that they could face sanctions as the Trump administration seeks to curb the Kremlin’s economic leverage over Europe and Turkey. Pompeo told a news conference that European investors in the Nord Stream 2 …
Read More »Palestine plays regional power politics with proposed energy deal
by James M. Dorsey | Jul 14, 2020 An initial version of this story was first published in Inside Arabia A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. A Palestinian move to secure Palestine’s energy needs by tying them to high-stakes Turkish regional gambits constitutes an effort to reduce Palestinian dependence on …
Read More »Egypt being tempted into entering Libya by eastern government
Libya’s eastern-based parliament has called for Egypt to directly intervene in the country’s civil war to counter Turkish support for the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli. In a statement late on Monday, the House of Representatives based in the eastern port of Tobruk …
Read More »In surprise move Trump and Erdogan agree on Libya security
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to work more closely in Libya to ensure lasting stability in the country, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday. Turkey supports the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Libya, which is fighting against the eastern-based …
Read More »Haftar extends his seige of oil facilities in Libya
Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Saturday it would maintain a blockade on oil production and exports that the National Oil Corp (NOC) says has cost the country $6.5 billion in lost revenue. Friday’s loading of a first tanker since January with oil from storage had led NOC …
Read More »Egyptian military send signal to Erdogan on Libyan border
A major Egyptian army exercise near the border with Libya is being viewed by military and strategic experts as a message of deterrence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his backing for the Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and supported by militia groups. The …
Read More »Turkey denies harassment charges against French navy
A senior Turkish military official said on Wednesday it was “completely untrue” that the Turkish navy had harassed a French warship, denying an assertion by a French official. Earlier on Wednesday, the French defence ministry official accused the Turkish navy of harassing a French warship on a NATO mission. He …
Read More »Turkey wants military bases in Libya
Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognised government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on Monday, teeing up a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean. No final decisions have been made over possible Turkish military use of the Misrata …
Read More »