Featured US Backs France in Standoff with Turkey over Warships

[Vergennes]

PARIS — The White House national security adviser says the U.S. is “very sympathetic” to France in its dispute with Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea between the two NATO allies.

The festering row has exposed NATO’s struggle to keep order among its ranks, and its diminished U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump.

“NATO allies shouldn’t be turning fire control radars on each other. That’s not good,” national security adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters in Paris on Wednesday. He said Trump is available to help defuse tensions, thanks to his personal relationships with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to French accounts of the June 10 incident, the frigate Courbet was illuminated by the targeting radar of a Turkish warship that was escorting a cargo ship.

France said it was acting on intelligence from NATO that the civilian ship could be involved in trafficking arms to Libya. The Courbet was part of the alliance’s operation Sea Guardian, which helps provide maritime security in the Mediterranean.

Turkey’s foreign minister accused France of lying, and Turkey’s ambassador to France said the French navy was harassing the Turkish convoy.

“We are very sympathetic to the French concerns,” O’Brien said, while acknowledging differing accounts of what happened. “We’re taking it very seriously.”

Macron has also accused Turkey of flouting its commitments by ramping up its military presence in Libya and bringing in jihadi fighters from Syria.

The United States is by far the most influential of the NATO allies, but has played a less prominent role under Trump, who has publicly berated European members and Canada for not spending enough on defense budgets. Trump has threatened to take U.S. troops out of Germany without consulting allies, and has pulled out of multiple international agreements that Europeans regard as important to their security.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/16/us-backs-france-standoff-turkey-over-warships.html

 

[vi-va]

No offense, but Erdogan has too many front in war. Risky.

 

[vostok]

No offense, but Erdogan has too many front in war. Risky.

That is how empires born - small or middle country risks and build it or not.

 

[monitor]

White House national security adviser says the U.S. is “very sympathetic” to France in its dispute with Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea between the two NATO allies.

He is sympathetic to France not supporting France in dispute with fellow NATO countries.
Whatever the motive Turkey in deep sea full of sharks without a strong support.

 

[vi-va]

That is how empires born - small or middle country risks and build it or not.

True. That's how empire collapses as well. I am just saying it's a bet, and a bet win sometimes, or lose.

 

[HalfMoon]

Trump/US is sympathetic to Turkey too.

 

[BRAVO_]

it is high time for turkey to assert its control in mediterreanean as europe is facing worst economic slow down and america has cought up with china iran afghanistan ...last thing they will do is to open one more front with turkey specially when elections are near trump will never esclate the ladder ... so turkey has played smartly

 

[925boy]

No offense, but Erdogan has too many front in war. Risky.

Thanks for the common sense.

 

[49savage]

Calculated risk

 

[Prince Kassad]

Turkey seems to be picking a lot of fights these days among nato allies.

 

[PakFactor]

First of all if the Turkish Ship was escorting the vessel; France had no reason to butt it’s nose into everything. If NATO had suspicions about the ship, Turkey a NATO member was already there. Next time they should just launch a Anti Ship at the French.

 

[Vergennes]

First of all if the Turkish Ship was escorting the vessel; France had no reason to butt it’s nose into everything. If NATO had suspicions about the ship, Turkey a NATO member was already there.

NATO MARCOM ordered the Courbet to inspect the suspect ship that switched off its tracking system,masked its ID number and refused to give its destination. The Turkish Navy was using NATO codes when its escorting mission had nothing to do with NATO. Of course,Turkey was there already. There escorting a ship full of weapons.

Next time they should just launch a Anti Ship at the French.

And what do you think will happen to the ship that fired this missile and all the Turkish frigates sailing off Libya ?

 

[Beast]

it is high time for turkey to assert its control in mediterreanean as europe is facing worst economic slow down and america has cought up with china iran afghanistan ...last thing they will do is to open one more front with turkey specially when elections are near trump will never esclate the ladder ... so turkey has played smartly

So Turkey is not suffering any backlash from the pandemic but EU only?

 

[bsruzm]

That is how empires born - small or middle country risks and build it or not.

There are times, you speak the truth.

And what do you think will happen to the ship that fired this missile and all the Turkish frigates sailing off Libya ?

Hurry up, you are losing your chances each day passing.

 

[925boy]

Turkey seems to be picking a lot of fights these days among nato allies.

and where are these same NATO allies when Turkey is in the regional battlefields?

"NATO Breakup is downloading currently...."

First of all if the Turkish Ship was escorting the vessel;

....carrying illegal contraband....

France had no reason to butt it’s nose into everything.

It did- a fellow rogue NATO member AKA TURKEY was carrying illegal contraband, which was against the same UN rules(arms embargo) that Turkey says it is supporting correctly in Libya...

If NATO had suspicions about the ship, Turkey a NATO member was already there.

YOu dont send a "bad cop" to go do real policing do you? Turkey was already in cohoots with the illegal arms smugglers, and no other NATO members were willing to do anything about this travesty and illegality that Turkey was managing off Libya's coast..

Next time they should just launch a Anti Ship at the French.

ha ha ....audacity level needs to be much higher to do that, so pls stop dreaming.