Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the European Union on Monday to side with Ankara after accusing France of wrongly depicting a standoff between their ships in the Mediterranean
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2020) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged the European Union on Monday to side with Ankara after accusing France of wrongly depicting a standoff between their ships in the Mediterranean.
France said that a Turkish warship escorting a Tanzanian-flagged vessel used a targeting radar on its frigate Courbet on June 10 as the French ship approached the convoy while on a NATO mission to stop arms smuggling to Libya, where Paris and Ankara are backing rival sides.
"EU should side with the solution, not conflict in Eastern Mediterranean," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Daily Sabah during a press conference with top EU diplomat Josep Borrell.
The Turkish minister argued that his country's ambassador to France had exposed as false the French account of the incident. Ismail Hakki Musa told Ankara's version of the story to the French Senate's committee on foreign affairs and defense on July 1, angering the French Foreign Ministry. France pulled out of the NATO mission shortly afterwards.
