Turkey’s Gunboat Gambit in the Mediterranean

Source:Gatestone Institute Date:31Dec2019

This article explains Erdogan’s involvement in the Libyan civil war, as well as giving a very comprehensive acount of Turkish naval build-up.

With the al-Sarraj handshake, Erdoğan is apparently aiming to:

• minimize Turkey’s isolation in the Mediterranean, one which has gradually worsened since 2010, following one diplomatic crisis after another with Israel;
• counter strategic cooperation between Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and Israel, including joint diplomatic, energy and military initiatives;
• cut into the emerging Cypriot-Greek-Egyptian-Israeli maritime bloc;
• push back against Arab (Egyptian and UAE) pressure on al-Sarraj;
• fill the European vacuum in Libya; and
• emerge as a deal-breaker in the Mediterranean rather than a deal-maker.