Erdogan affirms the continued presence in Libya, Syria, Azerbaijan, Eastern Mediterranean
Erdogan said that Turkey “is present in Libya, Azerbaijan, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean, and will remain”, in a tone of defiance of an escalatory challenge to the already existing crises in the region behind Ankara.
He added, during a visit to the factory of tank tracks in the state of Sakarya in northwestern Turkey: “We will take away our legitimate rights and we will conduct exploration work in all our seas, especially the eastern Mediterranean and the vicinity of Cyprus.”
Erdogan’s statements come days after Egypt officially announced the freezing of negotiations with Turkey, due to differences over 3 files, namely the Turkish presence in Libyan lands, the continuation of support for mercenaries, the continuation of illegal gas exploration in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean without reaching an agreement, and the continuation of providing support Al-Turki to the Brotherhood and refused to extradite those wanted by the judicial authorities in Egypt, in addition to the inflammatory statements of the Turkish President’s advisor, Yassin Aktay, against Cairo.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that “there is no specific date for the resumption of the exploratory sessions to look into the Egyptian-Turkish relations,” pointing to Egypt’s reservations about a number of Turkish policies, especially after the abuses of Erdogan’s advisor.
Shoukry confirmed that the Egyptian-Turkish talks had stopped at the present time, denying that an Egyptian delegation had headed to Ankara to resume talks soon.
The expert on Turkish affairs, Salah Labib, believes that Erdogan’s statements are “a continuation of the process of provocations practiced by Turkey, and a continuation of the policy of invasion and imperialism that it pursues to try to rob the wealth of neighboring countries in its regional surroundings as well as the Arab region.”
Labib says that “the Turkish statements are revealing and not a foundation for a new reality in the region,” noting that Turkey has not stopped its provocative policy in the eastern Mediterranean, and that “the Turkish occupation of several areas in northern Syria has imposed it to remain for years and will not give up easily.”
In an interview with our reporters, Labib described the continuation of these policies as “a great challenge to the major countries in the region, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and it represents a flagrant violation of international law and a violation of the warnings of all countries against continuing with these policies, especially with regard to illegal drilling. about gas in the eastern Mediterranean.
On the other hand, Labib believes that the countries that started dialogue with Turkey during the last period should reformulate the matter in line with the policies expressed by Erdogan, which “reflect the reality of his country’s foreign movements”, and that “it will not change in the near future” according to his point of view. He stressed the importance of Arab countries preparing to confront Turkey’s expansionist attempts, especially in light of the talk about Ankara’s desire to establish a military presence in Yemen.
Labib pointed out that “the official statements from Turkey regarding its desire to agree with Egypt at the presidential and governmental levels were not matched by similar policies from Egypt, because the hostility began from the Turkish side and not the other way around, and Ankara adopted hostile policies towards Cairo, especially by deliberately supporting terrorism and providing Financial and logistical support for groups hostile to Egypt.
He affirms that the government of Justice and Development will not abandon its project in support of political Islam and revolutions and unrest in the region in exchange for a strategic consensus with Egypt, explaining that “the Cairo and Ankara projects are contradictory and cannot be brought together, especially at the level of foreign alliances and regional files.”
