Greece, Cyprus, France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates condemn Turkey's "illegal activities" in the Eastern Mediterranean
The new wave of refugees, the disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Turkish military intervention in the conflict in Libya are increasingly poisoning diplomatic relations between Turkey and the countries of this region. The foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates have denounced in an official statement the "continuing illegal activities" by Turkey in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus and its territorial waters. The statement was issued following a teleconference held on Monday to review the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as to discuss the regional crises that are currently threatening peace and stability in the region.
In this statement they expressed their concern about the "current escalation and continued provocative actions in the Eastern Mediterranean". In view of this situation, the ministers stressed the strategic importance of intensifying their political consultations in order to improve security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. In a nine-point statement, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates criticised illegal Turkish activities in the Cyprus EEZ and stressed that such acts "represent a clear violation of international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea".
This Convention defines the Exclusive Economic Zone as the "area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established in this Part, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedoms of other States are governed by the relevant provisions of this Convention". However, in the case of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Exclusive Economic Zone has become a source of controversy and more so since the discovery of large gas deposits by Israel, Egypt and Lebanon in 2009.
However, the strategic importance of this region has always been present as, on the one hand, it is the gateway to the Red Sea through Egypt and, on the other hand, the entrance to Europe. One of the concerns of the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates is that, in less than a year, Turkey has carried out several illegal drilling operations in the maritime areas of Cyprus.
Following Monday's video conference, the foreign affairs cabinet representatives of these countries also condemned the "escalation of violations of Greek national airspace by Turkey, including flights over inhabited areas and territorial waters in violation of international law" and criticised "Turkey's instrumentalisation of civilians in an attempt to illegally cross Greek land borders, as well as its continued support for the illegal crossing of Greek maritime borders".
For this reason, they have used this statement to urge Greece to "fully respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all States in their maritime areas in the Eastern Mediterranean", claiming that the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Zones in the Mediterranean and the Memorandum of Understanding on Security and Military Cooperation signed in November 2019 between Turkey and the leader of the Libyan National Accord Government, Fayez Sarraj, are against international law and the UN arms embargo imposed on Libya. In this context, they have also regretted the escalation of hostilities in Libya and insisted on the importance of avoiding any kind of foreign military intervention in the North African nation.
Ministers from these countries have also condemned "Turkish military interference in Libya" and urged the country led by Erdogan to fully respect the UN arms embargo and to stop the influx of foreign fighters from Syria into Libya. "These events constitute a threat to the stability of Libya's neighbours in Africa and Europe," they stressed. In the same vein they have also shown their commitment to finding a political solution to the Libyan crisis together, under the auspices of the United Nations.
The declaration was signed just one month after Greece accused Turkey of "building an illegal house of cards" by refusing to recognise the Republic of Cyprus, an EU and UN member state. "Turkey refuses to recognize the sovereign rights of the Greek islands, in flagrant violation of international maritime law," they said in a statement. Greece accused Turkey of not recognizing Cyprus, while several Turkish F-16 aircraft violated Greek airspace, flying over several Aegean islands and over the Greek mainland without authorization.
One of the first reactions to this official statement came from the Tobruk-based Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, headed by Abdullah Al Thani, who welcomed the joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and France on Turkish violations in the eastern Mediterranean, as reported by the daily Al- Ain. Through an official statement, it also criticized Turkey's failure to comply with all international norms and laws that provide for the necessary legislation on state sovereignty and non-interference in their internal affairs.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) militias led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to capture control of the capital, the seat of the National Accord Government, led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, who signed a military cooperation agreement with Turkey to deal with Haftar's militias. Al Thani has shown its complete rejection of this military cooperation agreement since, as it has explained to Al Ain, it served to "undermine the peace process in Libya by bringing in mercenaries and showing its support through all kinds of weapons and drones". In the same statement he renewed his call to the international community and the United Nations to condemn and reject "the flagrant Turkish invasion of Libya".
Libya is a fragmented nation, divided since 2014 between the areas controlled by the internationally recognized National Accord Government (GNA) and the territory controlled by the authorities in the east. The Libyan National Army is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while Sarraj is backed by Turkey and Qatar. In recent hours, the GNA has attacked forces loyal to Haftar at Al-Watiya airbase, according to several local media reports. According to a statement from Operation Volcano of Fury, a military campaign launched by the GNA forces, the army carried out an air operation against Al-Watiya air base, located southwest of the capital Tripoli and controlled by Haftar forces.
This attack came after the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Tripoli, stating that they "may constitute war crimes". The conflict that has plagued the country since the death of Muammar Gaddafi is seen by some countries as a threat to the stability of the region, a stability that will not come as long as countries like Turkey continue to pursue their ambitions instead of working to bring peace to the country.
