{"id":43702,"date":"2020-09-04T01:22:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T01:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=43702"},"modified":"2020-09-04T01:22:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T01:22:46","slug":"turkey-russia-to-hold-live-fire-exercises-in-mediterranean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=43702","title":{"rendered":"Turkey: Russia to hold live-fire exercises in Mediterranean"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s power projection risks military clash in Mediterranean, former PM says <\/h2>\n
\n

\nANKARA: Turkey risks military confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean because it prizes power over diplomacy, a former prime minister who championed a less confrontational policy in the first decade of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s rule told Reuters.
Ahmet Davutoglu, whose \u201czero problems with neighbors\u201d mantra was a hallmark of Erdogan\u2019s early dealings with Europe and the Middle East, broke with the president\u2019s ruling AK Party last year to set up the rival Gelecek (Future) Party.
He criticized what he described as a lurch toward authoritarianism under Turkey\u2019s new executive presidency, and accused the government of mishandling a series of challenges including the economy, the coronavirus outbreak and the growing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Last month Turkey sent a survey vessel, escorted by frigates, to explore for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece, a move Athens said was illegal. The two NATO allies are locked in a dispute over the extent of their continental shelves and maritime economic zones.
The European Union, backing EU members Greece and Cyprus, has imposed minor sanctions against Turkey, and a collision between Greek and Turkish warships shadowing the survey vessel last month highlighted the potential for military escalation.
Davutoglu said Ankara had genuine grievances over Greek claims to tens of thousands of square kilometers of sea extending up to Turkey\u2019s Mediterranean coast, but added that Erdogan\u2019s approach carried high risks.
\u201cUnfortunately our government is not doing a proper diplomatic performance,\u201d he said in an interview, warning that if both Greece and Turkey prefer \u201cpower projections\u201d over diplomacy, \u201cat any time any crisis may erupt and escalate.\u201d
Time to talk
Turkey should say clearly to the EU: \u201c\u2018Let\u2019s come around the table and share all views\u2019,\u201d Davutoglu said. It should also sit down with Greece to \u201cdiscuss all matters (and) deescalate the tension.\u201d
Erdogan\u2019s government said it was on the verge of announcing a resumption of talks with Greece last month when Athens signed a deal setting out its maritime border with Egypt \u2014 an agreement which cut across waters claimed by Turkey.
Ankara cut off the process in protest, and a visit to Greece and Turkey by Germany\u2019s foreign minister last week appeared to make no headway. EU leaders will discuss the standoff later this month and could take further action against Turkey.
Davutoglu, who served as Erdogan\u2019s foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 and then as prime minister for two subsequent years, worked to strengthen Turkish ties and influence in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
But years of talks with Greece were suspended in 2016, and Davutoglu\u2019s Middle East strategy was derailed in the turmoil of the Arab uprisings, when relations with Syria and Egypt collapsed over Ankara\u2019s support for Muslim Brotherhood groups.
Davutoglu\u2019s Future Party is one of two which has broken away from Erdogan\u2019s AKP. Neither has registered above low single figures in recent polls, but by eroding the AKP\u2019s support they have made Erdogan\u2019s quest for a majority in elections due by 2023 more challenging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turkey\u2019s power projection risks military clash in Mediterranean, former PM says ANKARA: Turkey risks military confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean because it prizes power over diplomacy, a former prime minister who championed a less confrontational policy in the first decade of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s rule told Reuters.Ahmet Davutoglu, whose \u201czero problems with neighbors\u201d mantra…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}