The standoff between Turkey and Greece has drawn in regional and European powers, with implications for regional security, says an observer.
TURKEY'S MOTIVATIONS
Both claims are formalised in bilateral agreements with other countries in the region. Turkey signed an EEZ agreement in late 2019 with the Libyan Government of National Accord in Tripoli and, more recently, Greece with Egypt. Drilling vessel Scarabeo 9, owned by Italian oil service group Saipem, sails in the Bosphorus on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 13, 2020. Turkey is hungry for hydrocarbon-based growth and urgently needs more foreign exchange to prop up its currency, having lately been relying on dollars from Qatar. In this context, seeking energy wealth seems intuitive.
Turkey’s continuing commitment to Turkish Cyprus, alongside introducing the lira to the parts of northern Syria it controls, are seen as clear evidence. Yet with Turkey frozen out by the EastMed pipeline and most EEZ agreements in the region, Erdogan’s assertiveness may be less about seizing territory or energy than pushing for a seat at the negotiating table.
But if Israel is tacitly supporting the alliance, more assertive is another Mediterranean power, headed by a president who declared NATO “brain dead” in 2019 partly in reference to Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria.
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