NATO must deal with, not ignore Turkish problem: French official

[Vergennes]

PARIS (Reuters) - NATO must not bury its head in the sand with regard to Turkey’s recent behaviour towards its allies, a French defence ministry official said on Wednesday, accusing the Turkish navy of harassing a French warship on a NATO mission.

A senior Turkish official denied the accusation, saying “no such thing” had occurred.

NATO defence ministers will hold a virtual meeting this week amid growing tensions between Paris and Ankara. The two allies have traded barbs over the crisis in Libya, accusing each other of supporting opposing sides in the country’s war.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the French defence ministry official said it was time NATO had a frank discussion about Turkey and its conduct - not just in Libya, but other issues such as Ankara buying Russian S-400 defence systems and blocking NATO defence planning for the Baltics and Poland.

“We have known complicated moments in the alliance, but we can’t be an ostrich and can’t pretend there isn’t a Turkey problem at NATO. We have to see it, say it and handle it,” said the official. Calling Turkey’s behaviour unacceptable, the official singled out Turkey’s role in Libya,

Turkey, which backs the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, has secured a foothold in Libya by helping to repel an assault on the capital by the Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.

The French official said Turkey’s decision to send more weapons and Syrian mercenaries into the country was doing nothing to achieve peace and in fact pushing Russia to increase its involvement.

He accused the Turkish navy of using their NATO call signals while accompanying Turkish vessels suspected of breaking a U.N. arms embargo to deliver weapons to Libya.

He cited a case in which he said Turkish naval ships acted aggressively towards a French warship on a NATO mission to check whether the Turkish vessel Cirkin was smuggling arms to Libya.

French officials said the Cirkin had switched off its tracking system, masked its ID number and refused to say where it was going. “It was an extremely aggressive act and cannot be the action of an ally who is working within NATO under the command of NATO,” the French defence official said.

The senior Turkish official rejected the accusation, saying French forces had sought to search a Turkish vessel in international waters “and this was not permitted”, and that Turkey had taken no provocative or aggressive action to prevent this. “However we expect allies to show the same understanding and sensitivity towards the Turkish navy and its presence.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...turkish-problem-french-official-idUSKBN23O1OR

 

[Vergennes]

While tensions increase between the two members over Libya,it seems France and Russia are forging an unofficial alliance.... Interesting times ahead...

France factor disrupts Turkey's plan for control of Sirte

France, Russia seen forging defacto alliance in Libya.

TUNIS – A Libyan political source said that a Russian-French alliance is being formed in Libya, a move that seems to have disrupted Ankara's plan for an agreement with Moscow that would enable it to take control of Sirte.

“It seems that France has started to line up with Russia against Turkey, and in truth, it is against the United States,” the source told The Arab Weekly

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that “the Russians and the French view Sirte with the same importance; both want the port and the base of Al-Qardabiya.”

Observers made a link between the postponement of a planned official visit to Turkey by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygo and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a statement issued by the French presidency on Sunday strongly criticising Turkey's intervention in Libya. The timing of both developments may indicate that there was last minute coordination between Moscow and Paris.

The French statement limited itself to attacking the Turkish intervention, ignoring the campaign led by the US State Department to inflate Russia's role in Libya.

France, which has been intensifying for months its criticism of Turkish regional ambitions, said that Turkey was pursuing “an even more aggressive and insistent stance (in Libya), with seven Turkish ships deployed off the Libyan coast and violations of the arms embargo.”

“The Turks are behaving in an unacceptable manner and are exploiting NATO. France cannot just stand by," added the French presidency.

A French presidency official said on Monday that France wants to hold talks with NATO members to discuss Turkey's increasingly “aggressive” and “unacceptable” role, highlighting the increased tension between Ankara and Paris.

France and Russia support the Libyan National Army (LNA) in its war against terrorist groups and armed militias, while Turkey supports the Islamist-dominated Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

On Monday, Reuters quoted an unidentified Turkish official as saying, “Russia and Turkey postponed their talks on defusing the fighting in Libya because of a dispute regarding the Ankara-backed Tripoli government 's bid to regain control of the main coastal city of Sirte from the Russian-backed army.”

The Turkish official said that talks are continuing through back channels at the level of experts from both countries.

“The (postponed) meetings were supposed to lead to (concrete) results, but it was not possible to reach that stage. Both countries do not see to eye on some issues,” the official added.

Despite the importance of the city of Sirte to Russia, Turkey was hoping to conclude a deal with Russia similar to the one that led to the withdrawal from west Tripoli, hence allowing Turkey to gain control of this coastal city, which has special importance to the United States. Turkey’s intervention in Libya was implicitly blessed by the United States.

In Turkey's calculations, Russia's relinquishing Sirte does not seem impossible, since Ankara can offer Moscow the airbase of al-Jufra, described as the most important base in Libya, while keeping the base of al-Qardabiya to itself. These calculations, however, seem to have not taken into consideration French interest in the city, particularly its port that Paris was planning to make its nearest gate to Africa.

Russia is aware that the recent French escalation, which was preceded by French Rafale fighters flying over the city, would spoil any deal with Turkey that might take place.

The Rafale overflights carried a message to Moscow, namely that if France had agreed to force the LNA to withdraw from the western region, it was because such a withdrawal was in line with the outcomes of the Berlin conference. France, however, is not willing to tolerate the surrender of Sirte and would not hesitate to move to counter any attack on LNA forces in the city.

Located approximately halfway between Tripoli, which is under the GNA’s control, and Benghazi, controlled by the LNA, Sirte is the closest city to the main oil and gas terminals in Libya.

This is also why Sirte has special importance to the United States, which had assisted the Misrata militia to liberate the city from the clutches of ISIS in 2016.

At the time, it was reported that the United States refused to allow the LNA, under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to take part in the liberation of Sirte, even though the LNA had prepared to take part in the battle.

With the Misrata militias in control of Sirte, the city's residents started to complain of repeated attacks perpetrated against the city by the militias and of the GNA’s systematic and deliberate marginalisation of the city, since Sirte is the birthplace of the late Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and most of its residents hail from the Qaddafi and Farjan tribes. Haftar belongs to the Farjan tribe.

In early January, LNA forces took advantage of the withdrawal of most of the Misrata militia from Sirte to go fight on the battle fronts in south Tripoli and stormed the city in a lightning operation that lasted just hours. Sirte has been under LNA control ever since.

https://thearabweekly.com/france-factor-disrupts-turkeys-plan-control-sirte

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Either Turkey will take Libya, or Libya will take Turkey...

You're not dealing with the colonies....

By the by, Turkey is simultaneously conducting ops in 3 different countries plus the Eastern Mediterranean...

Hodri Meydan...

 

[Armchair]

NATO should reign in France from propping up a tin pot dictator in Libya against a UN recognized legitimate government. This is not the colonial era, France keeps forgetting this and needs a periodic spanking to get reminded.

 

[Vergennes]

The French defence ministry has summoned Turkey's military attaché in Paris.

 

[Faheka]

Nato must deal with this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1273201255834402819

 

[Dalit]

France isn't taken seriously. Not in a long while.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

The French defence ministry has summoned Turkey's military attaché in Paris.

He will send his village donkey...

 

[Faheka]

Last minute surprise visit

https://twitter.com/x/status/1273256100637347840

 

[Glass]

I think the French are desperate because they know that their influence is fading away with each passing year and as a result they started to give such statements- which makes them look increasingly weak.

I also dont think that the French will hold on Sahel once another nation will puts sights on that area- hint: it wont be Turkey.

 

[vostok]

Let me make some obvious predictions. In 10-20 years or so Europe will look around and find some sort of Islam Empire on its southern borders. And after America's fall this Islam Empire will look at Europe as a territory for settlements, because North Africa and more so Central Africa will be even worse place to live than it is now. And you, Europeans will scream :" Russia, save us, we are your brothers-Europeans. Save aour aces like you did in times of Napoleon and Hitler!"
And what will Russia answer? You can move your ases to us and settle here. But not a single Russian soldier will die for your lands.

 

[CAN_TR]

Serious question but who the f*ck are you that you can come to our backyard and stop a Turkish vessel, know your limits.
We also advised France about their YPG/PKK support but did they listen?

Whoever believes that NATO would do something when France defacto allies with Russia who by the way wants to build a base in Libya / NATO's southern flank is delusional.

 

[Oublious]

Typical french fries, you complaining about Turkish frigatte about Nato mission. France is on the other hand working with Russia against Nato. Establishing a base in Libya with the help of French.

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

France, obviously needs to stop supporting terrorists.

 

[BTruth]

French are supporting an illegitimate government and groups who are labeled terrorists by the UN and have conducted terrorism acts in Turkey. What do you expect?? A bouquet of flowers??