French President Emmanuel Macron called the recent incident in the Mediterranean Sea between the fleet of the Fifth Republic and the Turkish Navy evidence of the "brain death" of NATO. He made such a statement after negotiations at the Champs Elysees with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Said.

“I believe that today Turkey plays a dangerous game in Libya, and its actions run counter to all the commitments it made during the conference in Berlin (held in January 2020. - RT ),” Macron said.

On June 22, in a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump, the French leader also focused on the unacceptability, from his point of view, of unilateral actions in Libya. 

On June 10, the French frigate Courbet attempted to search a Turkish cargo ship off the coast of Libya as part of the Sea Guardian Alliance mission. The sailors suspected that it could carry weapons to the republic. However, the nearby naval ship of the Turkish Navy took Courbet three times in sight, preventing the French from going aboard the Turkish ship.

This incident became known only last week. In Paris, the behavior of the Turkish naval forces was regarded as "extremely hostile and aggressive actions." 

France also accused Ankara of interfering in the Libyan conflict and preventing the implementation of the arms embargo regime, which has been formally in force since 2011 and is regulated by UN Security Council resolution 1970.

Ankara reacted extremely negatively to the claims of Paris. Spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry Hami Aksoy rejected the accusations of France and explained, “clouding the mind,” Macron’s words about the “dangerous game. 

“Having no coast in the Eastern Mediterranean, France behaves like a coastal country, but it’s time for her to understand that she does not have the authority to make decisions on regional issues. France’s position, which ignores Turkey’s legal rights in the region, further exacerbates tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, ”Aksoy said in a statement. 

Opposing Interests

In mid-January 2020, an international conference on the settlement of the situation in Libya was held in Berlin, in which the leaders of the Russian Federation, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, Turkey, Egypt, representatives of the United Nations, the EU and the USA took part. The parties agreed on non-interference in the civil war, which has been going on in Libya since 2011, and to maintain the arms embargo regime. 

Today the observance of the embargo is monitored by the UN expert group and ships of the EU member states as part of the IRINI mission launched in April 2020. Operation NATO Sea Guardian, as follows from the materials on the website of the military bloc, is carried out in the Mediterranean Sea in order to maintain security and combat terrorism. Mission leadership is entrusted to the command of the Navy of the alliance, located in British Northwood.

The UN believes that, despite the efforts made, the Libyan arms embargo is violated. According to the world organization, military equipment and ammunition are delivered to the republic both by air, and by land and by sea.

  • French ship off the coast of Libya
  • © JOEL SAGET / AFP

On June 23, in an interview with RIA Novosti, the director of the department of international organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Pyotr Ilyichev, called on the approach of UN experts to monitor compliance with the Libyan arms embargo. The diplomat noted that the situation in the country is complicated by the “pumping” of weapons from outside. 

According to experts, France and Turkey are deeply involved in the internal Libyan conflict, while supporting various opposing forces. Paris sympathizes with the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Marshal Khalifa Haftaru, and Ankara with the Government of National Accord (PNS).

In February 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Haftar “a paid legionnaire”, hinting at his military-political dependence on Paris. A month earlier, the Turkish leader officially announced the transfer of military personnel to Libya in order to "ensure the security of a legitimate government."

“North Africa is the traditional sphere of influence of France, while Turkey claims to be the leader of the Islamic world, including in this region. I do not think that the French and Turkish Navy can enter the battle, but the probability of a recurrence of controversial incidents at sea is great. In Libya, Paris and Ankara are pursuing opposite interests, ”said Alexei Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Studies of MGIMO, in an interview with RT.

Distance from the political "noose"

With the filing of the Minister of Defense of Farncia Florence Parley, the incident with the frigate Courbet became one of the topics of negotiations between the defense ministers of NATO member countries, which took place in a virtual format on June 17-18. Although initially this issue was not planned to be put on the agenda of a videoconference.

Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledges to investigate the frigate incident. However, as the French newspaper Le Figaro notes, the military bloc is not able to impose any sanctions against one of the participants.

Journalists also drew attention to the fact that Paris’s concern over Turkey’s actions did not find wide support among NATO. The position of France received a positive response from only eight out of 30 members of the organization.

Experts believe that the contradictions between France and Turkey over Libya are another evidence of the worsening crisis of unity of the North Atlantic Alliance. They recalled that during the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic, each of the NATO countries coped with the consequences of rampant COVID-19 on its own.

Moreover, Italy, which in March-April was in a critical situation due to the epidemic, only China and Russia provided significant assistance.

Alexey Podberyozkin emphasized that contradictions constantly arise in the ranks of NATO. In addition to the controversial situation between Ankara and Paris, currently tensions remain between Erdonag and Trump. The USA’s policy, which is accustomed to treating its allies “rather unceremoniously”, introduces a certain contention, the expert argues.

  • Libyan National Army troops
  • Reuters
  • © Esam Omran Al-Fetori

Leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Political Sciences Sergei Fedorov believes that NATO has lost agreement and unity among the members. In an RT commentary, the expert noted that the Western military bloc does not have a common ideological platform, with the exception of Russophobia, and does not fit into the current alignment of political forces on the world stage. In this regard, according to Fedorov, Macron made an “adequate diagnosis” of the alliance’s legal capacity.

“Regarding the“ brain death ”of NATO, Macron spoke out last year. Now he repeated this phrase. Then it caused a big negative resonance among his colleagues in the EU, the American leadership and NATO authorities. Many didn’t like the phrase Macron, but in fact it’s hard to disagree with him, ”said Fedorov.

The analyst explained that in its current form, NATO is not able to act beyond the Cold War paradigm. At present, according to Fedorov, the alliance is not able to resolve disputed issues between the participating states. The growing contradictions make it impossible to fully implement the fifth article of the bloc’s charter on collective defense against a potential aggressor, says Fedorov.

“In my opinion, Macron sees all these trends and understands that it is unreasonable to rely on the mechanisms and resources of the alliance. Also, like his predecessors, he does not perceive Moscow as an enemy. Yes, France has always had a special relationship with NATO, which is controlled by the United States. But now Macron is making serious efforts to distance itself from Washington’s political “noose” and reduce dependence on the alliance, ”Fedorov emphasized.