EU ministers and Borrell urge aggressive Turkey to stop interfering in Libya

EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell on Tuesday called for the strengthening of Operation Irini, the bloc’s naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... “Operation Irini has hailed ships, since it was launched, on more than 130 occasions,” Borrell said after a videoconference of EU defense ministers. #Military #ARMY #EUarmy #NATO #Borrell #Libya [More than] 100 in relation with the arms embargo, 29 in relation with the oil embargo,” he said. “For sure, it can do more and better. But it is already delivering what it was set up for.” #eudebates EU foreign affairs commissioner Josep Borrell voiced concern on Monday over escalated tensions in the eastern Mediterranean due to Turkey's drilling efforts in the region, Greek newspaper Kathimerini said. "The situation in the eastern Mediterranean is becoming worse," Kathimerini cited Borrell as saying. “Greece and Cyprus have been rightly complaining about the fact that there are drillings very near their coastline,” Borrell said. Tensions have been simmering between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus over potentially rich hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, especially after the maritime agreement signed between Turkey and Libya's Tripoli-based government that ignores territorial waters around the divided island of Cyprus and a number of Greek islands. France, Greece reject Turkish efforts to create 'fait accompli' in eastern Mediterranean France and Greece are opposed to Turkish efforts to create a "fait accompli" in a dispute over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean, foreign ministers of the two countries said after a meeting in Paris on Monday. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias discussed the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and in Libya during the talks. The ministers condemned, notably in the wake of Turkey's recent announcements concerning drilling activities off of several Greek islands, any fait accompli policy and any unilateral initiatives that could lead to that, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. On May 30, Turkey announced plans to conduct hydrocarbon exploration near the Greek islands and to ultimately reserve the areas for natural gas and oil drilling. The charted blocks are based on a maritime agreement signed in November between Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord, which establishes a new Turkish-Libyan economic zone and bolsters Ankara’s claims over gas-rich areas of the eastern Mediterranean. However, Athens said Ankara's plans aimed to challenge Greece's sovereignty in the region via the Libyan-Turkish maritime deal that followed Turkey's increased intervention in the Libyan crisis. Greece says the deal ignores territorial waters around the divided island of Cyprus and a number of Greek islands. "With respect to Libya, the two ministers notably underscored the need to swiftly conclude a ceasefire agreement that would provide for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and for compliance with the U.N. arms embargo," the French foreign ministry said. Drian strongly condemned the military support that Turkey is continuing to provide in the Libyan conflict in direct violation of the U.N. embargo, the statement said. Observers have warned that the Libyan conflict risks spiralling into a full-blown proxy war as the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) faces off against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which is backed by several countries, including Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France. Until Turkey intervened by sending drones and armoured vehicles to Tripoli last April, the LNA was on course to capture the capital city. Turkish support has raised Turkey’s stakes in the conflict and, with the agreement in November to boost military aid even further with the deployment of Turkish troops, has given Ankara a key position in the resolution process.