Relations between Turkey and France have intensified since last month’s confrontation in the Mediterranean between Turkey and France. The Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday, July 2, that France should apologize for making “false statements” about the incident.
IN SHORT:
- In June, France claimed that a Turkish ship had turned on a fire control radar against a French ship.
- Turkey denied the allegations.
- A French ship was about to detain a cargo ship that was allegedly carrying weapons to Libya.
- France complained to NATO about the incident, demanding an investigation.
- On July 1, France announced that it would temporarily withdraw from the NATO mission in the Mediterranean.
- Turkey is asking France to apologize for the “false allegation” of the incident.
- NATO launched an investigation into the incident.
Incident in the Mediterranean: rising tensions radiate to NATO allies France and Turkey Rihards Plūme
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France, on the other hand, has previously complained to NATO about what happened, but does not seem to have received much support.
France claims that a Turkish warship turned its fire control radar in the Mediterranean last month against a French warship, which in turn was about to stop a cargo ship suspected of violating a UN arms embargo on Libya. Turkey denied the allegations.
The two NATO allies are in dispute over Libya.
France complained to NATO about the incident, calling for an investigation into the incident as an act of aggression. On Wednesday, July 1, France announced that it would temporarily withdraw from the NATO mission in the Mediterranean because it “does not seem healthy” to continue participating in the NATO operation together with the allies, which “do not respect the embargo”.
The Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday that France should apologize for making “false statements” about the incident.
France is by no means the only NATO ally to be dissatisfied with Turkey’s actions, as US President Dnald Trump has previously criticized Ankara.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has emphasized that the Alliance is now conducting an investigation to try to establish the facts. However, the outcome of this investigation will not cause the differences between the two countries to fade. It is more important to look at developments in the Mediterranean and, in particular, in Libya.
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