On Monday, a French presidential official stated that France is planning talks with NATO allies to discuss Turkey’s increasingly “aggressive” and “unacceptable” role in Libya. This underscores increased tensions between Ankara and Paris.
Speaking to Reuters, the French official accused Turkey of repeatedly violating the UN arms embargo and raising its naval presence off the coast of Libya. He added that Turkey’s actions were causing major issues between the warring parties and undermined all efforts of reaching a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
“This increasingly aggressive interference is not acceptable,” the presidential official said. “Turkey is supposed to be a NATO partner, so this cannot continue.”
NATO defence ministers are due to hold talks on Wednesday and Thursday. Ties between Turkey, and France are already strained due to a number of issues, ranging from the conflict in Syria to oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.