While Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was in Greece to sign a deal with his Cypriote and Greek counterparts about the construction of a gas pipeline which will bring Israeli gas to Europe, Turkey made a number of moves that could further destabilize the Middle East and spell trouble for the alliance between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.
Last November, Turkey and the international recognized Libyan government signed a controversial deal that would link their exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea.
The signed agreement was clearly meant as a signal to Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus that Turkey would act against the plan to build the gas pipeline and secure its interests in the gas-rich sea.
The deal also gave new evidence to the idea that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has Ottoman aspirations after he mentioned, shortly after signing the agreement, that Libya had been part of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan’s Ottoman aspirations were again on full display this week when the Turkish dictator sent two frigates to the coastal waters of Algeria to take part in a naval exercise that commemorated an Ottoman governor while also joining NATO’s Sea Guardian drill in the Mediterranean Sea. READ MORE
