Egypt’s Targets in the Mediterranean

2020/10/31 | Note, political, top news

Strategic Council Online - Following the signing of the controversial agreement between Egypt and Greece on the demarcation of water borders in the Eastern Mediterranean, the two countries agreed to complete the demarcation process. The agreement allows the two countries to use natural resources available in the intended economic zone and explore oil and natural gas. In the agreement in question, the maritime rights of the two parties have been specified to some extent and details of the maritime borders will be determined in the outcome of the future negotiations. Mahmoud Fazeli - Expert on European Affairs

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the demarcation of water borders between Egypt and Greece is in response to the signing of a similar Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Siraj. The MoU was signed by the presidents of Turkey and Libya in November last year which angered officials of Cairo and Athens. Greece had claimed that the memorandum between Turkey and the Libyan Government of National Accord was “illegal” and that Athens, with the help of Cairo, was cooperating to meet any challenge in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Ankara has also been drilling and exploring gas in the Eastern part of the island of Cyprus, raising concerns among Greece, Egypt and the Zionist regime. The approval of the Egyptian President Al-Sisi and the Legislative Commission of the Egyptian Parliament of the said agreement showed that Cairo considers this agreement necessary for making investment in the “Mediterranean” reserves.

In this agreement, governments of Egypt and Greece, by declaring their adherence to the principles of the agreement and the targets of the UN Charter and in accordance with international law, expressed their desire to contribute to the stability of the region in good faith based on international law and reiterated their intention to strengthen neighbourly relations, friendship and mutual cooperation. According to the agreement, if each country enters into negotiations with another country that has maritime zones with the aim of determining its exclusive economic zone, that party must inform the other party before reaching a final agreement with the third country. Egypt does not accept hegemonic policies and creation of tensions by some parties and considers that foreign military presence in Libya will escalate the conflict and serve hegemonic targets.

With the discovery of significant gas reserves off the coasts of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus in the last decade, the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum was established in Cairo in early 2020 with the participation of stakeholders, France and Italy. Turkey, which has more or less strained relations with major regional players, was left out of the plan. Ankara considers any plans for political-economic cooperation contrary to Turkish interests in its surroundings to be hostile and the agreement between Egypt and Greece to limit Turkish-Libyan maritime authority as invalid. Based on its “Blue Homeland” doctrine, Turkey seeks to explore gas in the disputed waters and strengthen its military presence in the sea and in the surrounding territories (such as Libya).

The statement of Erdogan, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin addressed the countries involved in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean conflicts and invited the neighbours to talks and negotiations, noting that Turkey does not seek to confront any country in Libya and does not prefer a military solution in any part of Libya and does not seek to face any country in Libya, which indicates that Erdogan’s team seeks to reduce tensions with Egypt. According to Ankara, if Egypt shows the will to take positive action in regional cases, Turkey is ready to contact with it. If a ground is prepared for cooperation with each other in the cases of Libya, Palestine, Eastern Mediterranean and other issues, Turkey can only look at these issues with a positive view.

Of course, in recent years, Turkey’s interference in Egyptian affairs based on the neo-Ottoman approach has intensified. Erdogan supports the Muslim Brotherhood, and Ankara’s relations with Cairo have severely strained since the fall of Egyptian Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The issue of the Muslim Brotherhood is the most important obstacle to the normalization of Egypt’s relations with Turkey. There are dozens of members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey. Egypt seeks non-interference of Turkish authorities in the internal affairs of the country as well as the end of the Turkish media propaganda against Egypt and ceasure of its support and help for the Brotherhood.

With the implementation of this agreement, it seems that Turkey will see its interests in the Mediterranean region in jeopardy because the implementation of this agreement gives Egypt the power to oppose other Turkish regional policies. This will happen especially in Libya, and Egypt will put pressure on the Libyan Government of National Accord with the power that is generated by the implementation of this agreement. Turkey is a staunch supporter of the Libyan Government of National Accord in the Libyan conflict and is a tough obstacle to the progress of the agreement.

Undoubtedly, the new Athens-Cairo agreement has added a new knot to the Mediterranean conflict, and its effects were clearly visible at the eighth Greek-Cypriot-Egyptian trilateral summit in Cyprus. Although Cyprus claims that relations with Egypt and Greece are not against any country and that the aim is to establish stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, it explicitly emphasizes that Turkey’s illegal measures undermine regional stability and its exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean are not authorized. Turkey must respect UN resolutions and stop its actions of destabilization. Nicosia is hopeful for the realization of the tangible measures with an aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation and friendship between Cyprus and Egypt as well as continuation of the strengthening of the mechanism of trilateral cooperation with Greece, especially in light of Egypt’s role as a foundation for the stability of the Middle East and efforts within the framework of counter-terrorism and illegal immigration.

Heads of the three Greek-Cypriot-Egyptian countries, in a joint statement of the Nicosia Summit, condemned Turkey’s illegal exploration activities in the continental shelf and the Cyprus exclusive zone and stressed the importance of holding negotiations based on international law. The three countries, fully supporting Cyprus efforts to find a comprehensive, just and lasting solution, reiterated their concern over the escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and militarization of the region, which is a threat to the stability, peace and security of the Mediterranean.

In view of the heads of the three countries, delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone should be done through dialogue and negotiations based on good faith and full respect of international law and called on Turkey to accept referring the case to the International Court of Justice in order to reach an agreement on delimitation and welcome signing and implementation of the agreement on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone between Greece and Egypt. In response to this meeting, Turkey emphasizes that although the three countries claim to support peace and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, the constant targeting of Turkey in all the statements released by them shows the real intentions of those countries.

The Egyptian President, who appreciates Cyprus position in support of Egypt in regional and international forums and organizations, called the tripartite meeting as an agreement on approaches to the Eastern Mediterranean region and countering stressful policies, interfering in the affairs of neighbouring countries and countering terrorism. Egypt intends to continue to strengthen cooperation and increase consultation on important issues at the bilateral level and through the mechanism of trilateral cooperation between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. According to Egypt, the tripartite meeting was held to support and strengthen the distinctive relations among the three countries, strengthen political consultations and exchange of views on approaches towards ways of addressing the challenges facing the two Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East regions.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST CONTENT

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading

Últimas publicaciones

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading