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The Eastern Mediterranean is not a Turkish lake, but a cradle of world civilisation
By Yacoub Riad Sarraf – MoD
Yacoub Riad Sarraf- يعقوب رياض الصراف
In recent days, Turkey has harked back to the challenges and the questioning of the sovereign rights of three neighbour states, Greece, Syria and the Republic of Cyprus.
In an abusive manner, which betrays the real intentions of its government to create outbreaks of tension throughout the region, Turkey has announced plans for a drilling survey in an area that does not belong to its Internationally Recognised EEZ. The announcement of investigations on the Eastern Mediterranean seabed is not an isolated Turkish initiative.
This is the latest episode of a tactic of repeated aggression that each time becomes a little more belligerent. The NAVTEX announcement and - above all - the exodus of the Turkish civilian fleet in order to further militarize the crisis with Greece is a conscious move to darken the atmosphere further, especially at a time when emotions are already running high due to the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Turkey's aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean is not a new phenomenon, it is becoming increasingly difficult to contain. The international conjuncture, a completely distorted perception of the power relations in the region, are leading Turkey to trespass one border after another. From Libya to Syria, Turkey is a constant source of instability.
Its alleged stabilizing role is a cover, which hides the real aims of Turkey, the projection, that is, of this peculiar neo-Confessional Ottomanism, which is nothing more than a nationalist daze non related to reality with eventual cataclysmic repercussions. This expansionism is a violation of international law and a violation of the sovereign rights of the other countries in the region.
Turkey violates the rights of the Republic of Cyprus, threatens Greece, destabilizes Libya, but also Syria, and lately wants to play a role in the Caucasus. Turkey appeared uninvited in all these areas. No one has asked for its intervention in Syria or Libya, and certainly, no one feels safe when the Turkish fleet wants to control the Eastern Mediterranean as if it were a Turkish lake.
The Eastern Mediterranean is not and will never be a Turkish lake, simply because many countries have equal rights over it and it is the mother of civilisation, culture and friendship. There is only one-way to share in the Eastern Mediterranean, that of bona fide cooperation, dialogue and world recognised principles.
Moreover, there is not a single multilateral association or organization that welcomes the unrest that the Turkish stance in the Eastern Mediterranean has created in recent years. Unfortunately, the rhetorical condemnation of Turkish provocations by the EU, or countries such as Egypt, France, Germany or the US, is not perceived by Turkey, as it should be, but as a sign of tolerance, encouragement, or even worse, weakness.
Greece as a member of the EU is a critical factor of stability in the region, a bridge between the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Europe and has nothing to fear from demonstrations of power and intimidation that are neither in line with the spirit of the times nor with the real balances. Anyone trying to turn the region into a field of war rivalries and imbalances is doomed to fail miserably.
Greece, Lebanon and Cyprus, in this difficult time, have the solidarity of every peaceful nation in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond, because it has with it the indisputable force of international law, but also the proven positive contribution to stability on all difficult fronts in the region. And this is something that no one should forget.
* Mr. Sarraf is former Minister of National Defense of Lebanon (2005 - 2008 and 2016 - 2019)
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