Athens frets at influence of Turkey on Libya
Turkey’s growing influence in Libya is reportedly worrying Athens, especially as tensions between Ankara and Benghazi have eased.
This was facilitated by last September’s Storm Daniel, which led to the deaths of thousands of people in Derna and other cities in eastern Libya, prompting humanitarian aid from Turkey, which was welcomed by Benghazi. Until that time the leadership in Benghazi had not supported Turkish positions.
It should also be recalled that in early December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the speaker of the House of Representatives (based in Tobruk), Aguila Saleh Issa, who until recently was heavily critical of Ankara’s expansionist strategy in Libya.
It should be noted that the Libyan parliament has not ratified the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum, which encroaches on Greek sovereignty, and this has boosted Athens’ arguments over the agreement’s legality.
The problem for Athens is the attitude of its partners toward the Turkish presence in Libya. A few days ago, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni met with Erdogan in Istanbul and among the issues they discussed was the migration challenge facing Rome from the Central Mediterranean channel and Libya, implicitly acknowledging Turkey’s role in the large North African country.
Also under scrutiny are the recent announcements by Turkish officials about exploiting the “possibilities” offered by the Turko-Libyan Memorandum to Ankara and Tripoli for hydrocarbon exploration south of Crete.
