Erdogan Walks Towards Tunisia To Strengthen Ties InMediterranean
In a surprise visit to Tunisia, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan mentioned his intentions to initiate a ceasefire in Libya. Turkey has been supporting the legitimate Libyan government. Erdogan was in conversation with Tunisia’s President Kais Saied. Tunisia has always been interested in maintaining strong relations with its neighbors Algeria and Libya.
Erdogan’s interest in Libya becomes more pronounced after the legitimate government and Ankara signed two agreements over join cooperation. There is one on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean and another on security and military cooperation. Both have been criticized by Haftar regime Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar is the head of the Libyan National Army.
Erdogan has also communicated that Ankara is more than willing to send troops to Libya if it received such a request. This has added hope for Tunisia.
It is worth noticing that Turkey is strategically trying to make friends with all its neighbors around the Mediterranean where it is now eyeing for power and control. The world isn’t happy with the way Turkey is ramping up its efforts to strike deals with nations around the Mediterranean. The EU itself has been trying to stop Turkey from breaking the rules put down by the European Union. But somehow, Turkey has never felt being taken care of by the EU and continues to act like a rebel nation that is out to prove its worth to the world.
Ankara has been at loggerheads with Greece over resources off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus. Even Athens isn’t happy with the way Turkey is behaving. While Turkey has been working with Russia over Syria, it does not meet eye to eye over the Libyan relations. Off late, the Haftar self-styled Army has received support from a Russian-backed group of private military contractors, Wagner that is supporting Haftar’s forces in Libya. Moscow has said it is very concerned about the prospect of Turkish troops being deployed there and thus Haftar has taken support from none other than Russia that has also been ousting the US by striking military deals with Turkey.
Turkey is now moving closer to building its own bridges.
Erdogan’s interest in Libya becomes more pronounced after the legitimate government and Ankara signed two agreements over join cooperation. There is one on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean and another on security and military cooperation. Both have been criticized by Haftar regime Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar is the head of the Libyan National Army.
Erdogan has also communicated that Ankara is more than willing to send troops to Libya if it received such a request. This has added hope for Tunisia.
It is worth noticing that Turkey is strategically trying to make friends with all its neighbors around the Mediterranean where it is now eyeing for power and control. The world isn’t happy with the way Turkey is ramping up its efforts to strike deals with nations around the Mediterranean. The EU itself has been trying to stop Turkey from breaking the rules put down by the European Union. But somehow, Turkey has never felt being taken care of by the EU and continues to act like a rebel nation that is out to prove its worth to the world.
Ankara has been at loggerheads with Greece over resources off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus. Even Athens isn’t happy with the way Turkey is behaving. While Turkey has been working with Russia over Syria, it does not meet eye to eye over the Libyan relations. Off late, the Haftar self-styled Army has received support from a Russian-backed group of private military contractors, Wagner that is supporting Haftar’s forces in Libya. Moscow has said it is very concerned about the prospect of Turkish troops being deployed there and thus Haftar has taken support from none other than Russia that has also been ousting the US by striking military deals with Turkey.
Turkey is now moving closer to building its own bridges.
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