Libya has outsized importance for Turkey’s Mediterranean plans

Source:al Monitor Date:06Jul2019

Another excellent analysis my military  affairs expert Metin Gurcan, the game of influence between Turkey and its rivals in the Mediterranean Sea:

Turkey’s interest in Libya is more related to strategic balances in the power struggle going on in the eastern Mediterranean. While it is true that Turkey is supporting pro-Islamist groups in Libya, the Turkish actors involved in the conflict are not limited to the Islamist government in Ankara. They have connections with the Turkish military, especially its navy, which is certainly more secular than Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party.

For Ankara, the worst-case scenario in the eastern Mediterranean is a possible agreement between Greek Cypriots and Greece on sharing of naval sovereignty areas. This could threaten Turkey’s and Turkish Cypriots’ rights and interests in naval sovereignty zones in the region, which is believed to be rich in terms of hydrocarbon resources.