The government in Ankara has sharply criticized the EU sanctions against a Turkish shipping company for alleged violations of the arms embargo on Libya. In view of the efforts to defuse the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, these measures are „extremely regrettable,“ said the Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday.
The ministry thus created a link to the dispute over the rich gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, to which EU members Greece and Cyprus as well as Turkey are claiming.
Accounts locked
The EU foreign ministers yesterday decided on the sanctions against the Turkish shipping company Avrasya Shipping because it was allegedly involved in the delivery of war material to Libya bypassing the UN embargo. For the same reason, punitive measures were imposed on a Jordanian shipping company and the cargo airline Sigma Airlines from Kazakhstan.
It is the first time that the EU has independently adopted sanctions for violating the arms embargo. So far, it had only implemented UN sanctions in this area. Accounts of the affected companies in the EU will be blocked. In addition, European companies are no longer allowed to maintain business relationships with them.
Turkey’s allegations to the EU
During the Libyan civil war, Turkey supports the UN-recognized unity government in Tripoli. The unity government is in conflict with General Khalifa Haftar, whose troops control areas in the east and south of the country. A number of other countries support Haftar, including Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has now also accused the EU of „ignoring“ deliveries to Haftar, especially by the Emirates, during the controls of the Libya embargo. According to a UN report from last December, the United Arab Emirates regularly delivered war material to Haftar.
In March of this year, the EU decided on a new naval mission to enforce the arms embargo. The military operation „Irini“ uses ships and airplanes to monitor the sea route to Libya.
