US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The other day, a Turkish frigate heading to Libya with an unknown cargo on board was stopped by a French frigate performing a mission as part of the NATO Sea Guardian mission to ensure an arms embargo against Libya imposed by the UN Security Council.
The Turks not only refused to allow the French to search for cargo, but also defiantly walked past them, taking their frigate in sight with the help of missile guidance systems. The French did not want to provoke, and were forced to miss the Turks, watching how they continue to move in the direction of Tripoli.
This incident is very serious. He questions several processes at once:
1. NATO’s ability to fulfill its obligations, even if it relates to another member of NATO.
2. The ability of France to fulfill its obligations, especially in the light of their ambitions to be the guiding force of Europe and the alliance as opposed to the United States and Britain.
3. The ability of the international community and NATO, in particular, in principle to compel the parties to comply with the international embargo, the violation of which is a violation of international law.
4. The ability of NATO to help resolve any conflicts that threaten regional stability and security.
It is not surprising that Macron attacked Turkey with critical comments, saying that their actions “are not compatible with the status of NATO member countries.”
The thesis of the “brain death” of NATO, in principle, is confirmed by just such cases. Unity in the alliance is getting smaller. And although it is not a question of its collapse or the withdrawal of its members, coordination and cooperation within NATO is increasingly suffering from internal political and inter-ideological contradictions, as well as from the growth of self-centeredness, nationalism and populism in individual NATO member countries, which are contrary to the spirit multilateral diplomacy and values embedded in the alliance after World War II.
By the way, a rather interesting solitaire is taking shape around Libya, which also shows that international politics or conflicts are not about the black and white world where there are “good” and “bad” ones, as we are used to talking about everything.
France supported Egypt’s statements about the likelihood of military intervention in the conflict in Libya on the side of Khalifa Haftar, if Turkey goes to storm the city of Sirte and the eastern part of the country.
Italy entered into an alliance with Turkey on Libya, and will act on the side of the Government of National Accord in Tripoli. They are also accompanied by Qatar and Tunisia, as well as part of the American military bureaucracy in the Pentagon, which is trying to keep the White House and Trump personally away from decisions on Libya, because he personally sympathizes with Khalifa Haftar.
On the Egyptian side are the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan, Greece and France. Recently, even Iran has expressed its support in exchange for certain agreements on Syria, about which I cannot yet say anything definite.
There were even rumors that the UAE was ready to finance the Egyptian invasion of East Libya and even throw a couple of billion dollars on top of it, which increases the risk of a Turkish-Egyptian clash in Libya.
Russia and China have so far laid eggs in different baskets, although recently, Moscow is more and more inclined towards an agreement with Turkey.
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