Before continuing on, if you haven't read
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The Mediterranean: "The Sea in the Middle of the Earth" Still Geostrategically Vital
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Pt. 1: Meddling Outsiders and Antagonistic/Conflicting Neighbours Around the Mediterranean Sea
You probably should One more factor in all this was Assad's "Four Seas" Strategy.. this too was a plan that would have set Syria up as an energy hub integrated with Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan. This plan could not be allowed to come to fruition by the anglo zionist overlords, because, it would have resulted in a reduced Israeli role/ reduced Israeli power in the region. The US and Israel would never let this stand.
"Since 2009, Bashar al-Assad has been promoting a "Four Seas Strategy" to turn Damascus into a trade hub among the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea and the Caspian Sea.Aligning Syria with countries that lie on these shores—Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan (The Weekly Middle East Reporter, August 1, 2009)—Assad peddled this idea in May 2009 with Turkey, stating that “Once the economic space between Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran become integrated, we would link the Mediterranean, Caspian, Black Sea, and the [Persian] Gulf … we aren’t just important in the Middle East…Once we link these four seas, we become the compulsory intersection of the whole world in investment, transport and more.”
Now let’s get up to speed on the Nov. 27/19 agreement between Libya and Turkey- Notice that the Turkish/Libyan agreement comes years after Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt made their pacts? Which by their design, intentionally, excluded Turkey (Lebanon and Syria/ Damascus) despite the FACT that Turkey was the most expedient path to transport energy resources to Europe? (covered in Part 1) Turkey's participation,would have enriched Turkish coffers, of course. Making the attempt to circumvent Turkey as a trading partner an aspect of financial warfare. As well as geostrategic warfare (denial of resources) Turkey's Parliament Will Vote in Early January on Sending Troops to Libya Erdogan"Turkey could deploy troops to Libya to support the government in Tripoli as early as next month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, putting the north African country's conflict at the centre of wider regional frictions.Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has been fending off a months-long offensive by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces in eastern Libya."For those who are unaware or have forgotten Haftar is and has long been the CIA’s man...
Excerpts from the two posts (relinked above) :
“Great Britain funded an Al Qaeda cell in Libya, in an attempt to assassinate Gadaffi.(the British government denies this) The main opposition group in Libya now is the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. This opposition group is being funded by Saudi Arabia, the CIA, and French Intelligence. This group unified itself with other opposition groups, to become the National Conference for the Libyan Opposition. It was this organization that called for the "Day of Rage" that plunged Libya into chaos on February 17 of this year (2011).Khalifa Haftar’s army now controls much of the eastern half of the country. General Khalifa Haftar left his home in northern Virginia—where he had spent most of the previous two decades, at least some of that time working with the Central Intelligence Agency and returned to Tripoli to fight his latest war for control of Libya. Haftar’s force, which he calls the Libyan National Army, has taken much of the eastern half of the country, in an offensive known as Operation Dignity. The US has been funding for decades are now taking their chance to gain control over the nation. A group recently arrested in Libya consisted of dozens of foreign nationals that were involved in numerous acts of looting and sabotage. The Libyan government could not rule out links to Israel.Much as General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has boasted of doing in Egypt, General Haftar proposes to destroy the Islamist forces and bring peace and stability—enforced by his own army”
That’s a giant laugh out loud. The Islamist/CIA agent allied with Al Qaeda is going to destroy Islamist forces, like el- Sisi the great Islamist fighter ...Absurd. Haftar was left to rot in Chad by Gadaffi decades ago, most probably due to the fact that Gadaffi found out Haftar was a turn coat. Haftar was eventually retrieved in Chad and whisked away to Virginia. The CIA got their man.Haftar’s mercenary forces call themselves or are known as the Libyan National Army. So they rebranded from the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (which destroyed Libya with NATO’s help and murdered Gadafi) to the Libyan National Army. The use of the word national in both cases brings to mind ‘nation’, like the nation of Libya, so it’s misleading. And intentionally so.And one last twist to the tale of Haftar.. Haftar was reported DEAD in 2018. He is in his 70's so death or incapacitation from stroke is a real possibility.Haftar
"Unconfirmed reports that General Khalifa Haftar, a key figure in Libya’s political landscape, has died in Paris hospital are fueling speculation about the country's future. Haftar had suffered a stroke earlier this week.
The situation will become even more unstable should Mr Haftar die or become too incapacitated to lead the LNA. The LNA is a patchwork of tribal militias that have pledged loyalty to Mr Haftar allied with some former Libyan army units, rather than a singular force. As such, Mr Haftar is the unifying factor at present—and he has no obvious successor. In this context, rifts would probably emerge within the LNA and a power struggle for its leadership and key resources, such as oil infrastructure, could lead to internal fighting"
Makes one wonder if Haftar is kept 'alive' in order to maintain cohesion among the CIA backed LNA? Has there been recent imagery of him? We sure read much about his "army" but what about the man? Anyone? But let's get back to Turkey and Libya, the Mediterranean neighbourhood and a trade agreement presented as if the world had fallen apart. And maybe for the Usrael empire the situation had become more complicated- hence the common presentation via the imperial media. Yet, there are competing interests and that's the point of this entire series. Contrary to claims by the obfuscating media it seems that Turkey did demarcate a maritime border.... which will undoubtedly be disputed but nonetheless they’ve staked out their spaceWorld Oil.com
Turkey and Libya officially approved a contentious maritime deal that may fuel an energy showdown in the gas-rich waters of the eastern Mediterranean, where both countries are at odds with Greece.The Nov. 27 preliminary agreement demarcates an 18.6-nautical mile (35-kilometer) line that will form the maritime boundary separating what will be the two countries’ respective exclusive economic zones. Libya’s presidential council and Turkey’s parliament approved the memorandum of understanding, Anadolu Agency said Friday. It is now expected to be filed with the United Nations.“This agreement also amounts to a political message that Turkey can’t be sidelined in the eastern Mediterranean and nothing can be really achieved in the region without Turkey’s participation,” Cagatay Erciyes, a senior foreign ministry official in charge of maritime and aviation boundary affairs, said on Thursday.Greece, Cyprus and Egypt see the deal as a brazen Turkish bid for dominance in the contested waters. Libya is also in conflict with Greece over off-shore exploration licenses Athens issued for waters south of Crete, which is located between Turkey and Libya.
Libya is in conflict with Greece, same as Turkey is and lo and behold they sign an agreement together- should this be shocking? No.
Turkey’s main opposition party CHP backed the agreement.
Turkey & Libya’s joint trade agreement might give Israel a cause for concern? Maybe?Turkey/Israeli relations following Libya deal
In fact, the world and especially the riparian states are closely following these “events,” which could also be named “belated decisions from Turkey.”One of these states is Israel, which has been for a long time looking for ways to transport to Europe the natural gas that will be gathered from the hydrocarbon fields in the Eastern Mediterranean.One of the most remarkable of developments was the formation of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in Cairo in January 2019. Turkey, Syria and Lebanon not being included drew attention while countries like Egypt, Israel, Greece, Palestine and the Greek Cypriot administration were included in the forum. While the Minister of Petroleum of Egypt, Tarek al-Mala, said the forum is open to other riparian states in his opening speech, Israeli news sources stated that the forum is an anti-Turkey initiative and its goal is to inhibit the Republic of Turkey’s impact in the region.
Turkey’s insistent calls for negotiations not getting appropriate responses from other countries in the region caused the game to get more serious.Turkey decided to be present in the Eastern Mediterranean and defend its rights stemming from international law at any cost. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “You can’t be at the table unless you are on the field.”As a result, the Turkey-Libya Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement was signed Nov. 27 after long-standing meetings with Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord. With this agreement, the maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya were set and a possible Greece-Greek Cypriot administration and Greece-Egypt deal was rendered meaningless.
Moves and countermoves- not just one party or player involved.
It will be necessary for these countries to either remove their reservoirs and include all riparian states in the forum or to create a new forum where countries who do not want to collaborate with Turkey will be excluded.Since the developments are very fresh, it is too soon to predict how these countries will react.However, the Turkish-Israeli relations in the following period and the potential opportunities that might arise after will be a good starting point for future projections. In contrast, it’s absolutely certain that the new diplomatic process will be a more rational one for all shareholders.
Personally, I doubt Israel will negotiate with Turkey.That’s my opinion. In fact as you will read, Israel is carrying on it’s plans..Meanwhile Cyrus reached out to some of it’s Mediterranean neighbours and othersCyrpus FM
Cyprus Mail: "Christodoulides held telephone conversations with: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry; United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi; and Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.The maritime deal ends Turkey’s isolation in the East Mediterranean as it ramps up offshore energy exploration that has alarmed Greece and some other neighbours. The military deal would preserve its lone ally in the region, Tripoli."
“ends Turkey’s isolation in the Eastern Mediterranean” What parties were seeking to isolate Turkey and why?“The military deal would preserve its lone ally in the region, Tripoli.” Isn’t the government in Tripoli the officially recognized/ UN sanctioned government of Libya? It is and yet... it’s get the pariah treatment. That’s odd isn’t it?
Cyrprus Mail: "Meanwhile on January 2 Cyprus, Greece, and Israel are to sign an agreement for the construction of the EastMed pipeline, seen as a response to the Turkey-Libya maritime deal.
The $7-9 billion pipeline would have to cross the planned Turkey-Libya economic zone."
Meanwhile.... Damascus Signs Contract to Develop Offshore Oil Wells With Russian FirmsThis recent development is interesting since Damascus/Syria (Turkey and Lebanon) had been entirely shut out of the eastern med by Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt and the US/UK- despite having a stake in the resources of the Mediterranean- Look again at the map. Syria's coastline runs between Turkey and Lebanon's coast.
"Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Ghanem said that the country has signed contracts with two Russian companies to jointly develop two blocks of Syria’s offshore oilfields. The contracts still have to be ratified before the drilling can commence in the future.The two countries also negotiated to jointly create an oil and geological centre as part of an energy roadmap for Syria, the minister added. The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas will be the key partner in the project on Moscow's side."
This is getting very long, so, I’ll sum it up by stating or actually restating... the situation in and around the Mediterranean is complex and competitive. This is not a simple case of “bad Turkey” or “bad Libya” as is very commonly presented in the 5 eyes main stream and alternative media. That angle is a carefully crafted, pro empire bias that only serves to manipulate your understanding of what is happening in the region. Much in the way of resource profit and control is at stake. Countries can survive or be further weakened depending on the outcome of this situation? And you and I can be duped dupes or we can take the time to understand the nexus of interests as they converge and diverge in this area.