NATO’s sources are investigating a recent hot episode between French and Turkish naval vessels, the details of which are deemed too sensitive to be made public, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
According to the report, the incident took place in June and the investigation into what exactly took place is considered too sensitive to be discussed in public as Paris and Ankara are waging a war of declarations.
“This underscores NATO’s difficulties with Turkey, not only in regards to France, but also with Greece’s dispute over natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and with the United States as its leader,” Reuters reported.
What had happened
It is recalled that on June 10, a French frigate on a NATO mission tried to inspect a Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship suspected of arms smuggling into Libya.
According to Paris, the French warship was the target of an “extremely aggressive” maneuver by Turkish frigates in the Mediterranean region.
For its part, Turkey denies the accusation, arguing that it was the French frigate that moved menacingly.
“They swept it under the rug,” said a European diplomat, while another noted that NATO’s determination to keep Turkey on its side, due to its military influence and position, reflects that the organization is not determined to take drastic measures.
The French President Emmanuel Macron recently spoke of the “unacceptable behavior” of the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the latter answering “Do not mess with Turkey.”
The two countries are also at loggerheads over the issue of Greece, which is reacting to Ankara’s attempts to extract hydrocarbons off the coast of Greece and Cyprus, with France having joined Greek naval exercises, the telegram concludes.
