Turkish ambitions in Libya collides with the maritime demarcation rock

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his
provocative statements about the situation in the eastern Mediterranean region,
and raises the intensity of his threatening rhetoric towards the Libyan file,
despite the many international warnings of Erdogan, who is blinded by ambitions
and interests about seeing the truth and speaking the language of reason.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced its rejection
of the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders concluded Thursday,
August 6, 2020 between Egypt and Greece, and said that it is "null for
Ankara," stressing that Turkey does not recognize the existence of a
maritime border between the two countries.
Turkey said that the Egyptian-Greek agreement
concerns a region that Turkey considers part of its continental shelf, and that
it considers it a violation of international maritime rights.
The ministry claimed that Ankara has
"legitimate rights and interests" in the area mentioned in the
Egyptian-Greek agreement, stressing that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots will
continue to firmly defend it.
The signing of the Egyptian-Greek agreement came
against the backdrop of the conclusion of a memorandum on demarcating the
maritime borders between Turkey and the Libyan Government of National Accord
headed by Fayez al-Sarraj in November 2019.
That memorandum became an additional source of
tension in the Mediterranean, and it called for new opposition from some of
Turkey's regional neighbors, led by Egypt, Greece and the internationally
recognized Republic of Cyprus.
The Turkish statements regarding the agreement come
at a time of raging disagreement between Cairo and Ankara regarding Turkish
interventions in Libya, in addition to a previous Turkish objection to the
demarcation agreement, and the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum established by
Egypt 2019.
The Turkish objection to the agreement leads to the
essence of the intervention and Ankara's declaration to provide diabetes and
logistical support to the Libyan militias, the "government of
reconciliation", in order to gain control over Libya's oil and resources,
and to create a region of strength in the Middle East.
Turkish ambitions are not hidden or concealed, as
the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) submitted a formal request to the
so-called Libyan Government of National Accord to obtain permission to explore
for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan's ambitions coincide with the desires of
Fayez al-Sarraj and Abd al-Hakim Belhadj, a member of al-Qaeda, to enjoy the
rule of Libya, under the threat of weapons and Turkish support, when the
country takes over a gold plate to Erdogan.
Fait accompli
policy
Al-Wefaq had signed an agreement with Ankara in
November 2019 to establish an exclusive economic zone from the southern Turkish
coast on the Mediterranean to the coasts of northeastern Libya.
In addition to the signing of a joint memorandum of
understanding on demarcating the maritime borders in the Mediterranean between
Ankara and Tripoli, in contradiction to the norms of international law and the
arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Libya, an agreement that was
rejected by Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, France and the Emirates.
Jana Jabbour of the Institute of Political Science
in Paris, who specializes in Turkish foreign policy, says that the cooperation
of Erdogan and Al-Sarraj is "a win-win game: the Government of National
Accord obtains Turkish political and military support, and in return it helps
Turkey achieve its goals in the energy file."
The researcher pointed out to "Deutsche
Welle" that Ankara wants to preserve its economic interests in Libya,
especially in the construction sector, as it will be threatened in the event of
Haftar's victory.
Writer Abdul-Bari Atwan says in the London-based
online newspaper Rai Al-Youm that: "The ambitions of the Turkish president
are not limited to obtaining the largest possible share of Libyan oil and gas
only, but also extend to the consolidation of Turkish influence in Libya,
politically and militarily, and this explains the discovery of the 'Yeni'
newspaper. Shafak 'close of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Ankara.
In an article published under the title “What does
the sudden disclosure of Erdogan’s plan to establish two Turkish air and naval
bases in Libya mean?” Atwan added: “Turkish forces, reinforced with naval
frigates and heavy military equipment, and thousands of mercenaries, terrorist
elements and drones are already present on the ground.”
Atwan asked: "The question currently being
asked is whether the neighboring countries of Libya, such as Algeria and
Tunisia in the west, and Egypt in the east, will accept this de-facto policy
imposed by the Turkish presence, and coexist with it accordingly, or will they
confront it politically and perhaps militarily in the foreseeable future?"
Turkey is still sending mercenary fighters to Libya,
as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed, on August 6, 2020, that
the Turkish government sent a new group of mercenaries from Syria to Libya, to
fight alongside the armed militias that control Tripoli.
The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said that a new batch of 300 people from the armed
Syrian factions loyal to Ankara arrived in the past two days in Libya.
The observatory indicated that the number of
mercenaries who have arrived so far from Syria to Libya via Turkey has reached
17,300 mercenaries, including 350 children under the age of 18 years.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, 6 thousand mercenaries from the pro-Turkish factions have returned from
Libya to Syria, after the end of their contracts and taking their financial
dues.