Tensions in the Mediterranean: Paris denounces a recent “extremely aggressive” Turkish maritime maneuver
The French military frigate “Le Courbet” was illuminated three times. The Ministry of the Armed Forces intends to denounce this “very serious” act.
the 17/06/2020 | World Africa Libya: franceinfo with AFP:
A French ship participating in a NATO mission in the Mediterranean has recently been the subject of an “extremely aggressive” maneuver by Turkish frigates, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces reported on Wednesday (June 17th).
As the frigate Le Courbet sought to identify a freighter suspected of transporting arms to Libya, “the Turkish frigates intervene and illuminate Le Courbet three times with their fire control radar”, described the ministry of the Armed Forces just before a Atlantic Alliance Defense Ministers videoconference.
Lighting up a ship is more than a warning shot. This maneuver is “intended to make an ultimate location, before firing, in order to guide a possible missile. A kind of last call, electronic, before the real fire”, writes the political blog Bruxelles2.
“Put the dots on the I”
“This case is in our eyes very serious (…). We cannot accept that an ally behaves like that, do this against a NATO ship under NATO command leading a NATO mission”, argued Paris, by warning that the Minister of the Armies Florence Parly was going to “put the points on the i” during this meeting on “the Turkish attitude in the Libyan conflict”.
“These norias of boats between Turkey and Misrata, sometimes accompanied by Turkish frigates, do not contribute to the de-escalation”, underlined the ministry, denouncing in addition the Turkish buildings “use NATO codes” to identify themselves during his escort missions.
The tone continues to rise between Paris and Ankara in recent days. Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned “Turkey’s growing military support” to the Government of National Union (GNA) in “direct violation of the United Nations embargo”.
The day before, the French presidency had already denounced Ankara’s “unacceptable” interventionism. Turkey has dismissed these criticisms of its armed support for the Tripoli government in Libya, accusing Paris in turn of “obstructing peace” by supporting the opposing camp.
Libya has been plagued by chaos since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. Since April 2019, the conflict has left hundreds of people dead, including many civilians, and forced more than 200,000 people to flee their homes.
francetvinfo.fr/monde/afrique/libye/tensions-en-mediterranee-paris-denonce-une-manoeuvre-maritime-turque-recente-extremement-agressive_4011275.html
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