On Monday, French Defense Minister Florence Parly stated that “the security situation in a number of neighboring countries, especially in Libya and Turkey, has deteriorated”.
She called for better cooperation between the European Union and NATO members.
Parly said “there are considerable conflicting forces at the gates of Europe. This includes increased tensions between the United States and China, and the erosion of treaties – all of this taking place at a time of great instability”.
Notably, the French Minister previously announced France’s decision to suspend its participation in NATO’s naval mission, ‘Sea Guardian’.
Paris opted to withdraw from the operation due to recent tensions with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.
France accused Turkey of harassing one of its vessels taking part in the NATO mission.
Ankara and Paris have recently been at odds due to their conflicting policies in Libya, as the two countries back opposing parties in the civil war.