Turkey seeks French apology over ‘false’ claim in naval row

TURKEY’S foreign minister on Thursday said France should apologise for making “false claims” about a naval incident in the Mediterranean that has fuelled tensions between the NATO allies.

“When France makes false claims and works against Turkey, that should not be accepted,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Berlin.

“We expect France to apologise unconditionally,” he said, after Paris last month denounced an “extremely aggressive” intervention by Turkish ships against a French navy vessel participating in a NATO Mediterranean maritime security operation.

NATO has opened an investigation into the incident, in which France says one of its ships was subjected to radar targeting by Turkish frigates as it sought to inspect a cargo vessel suspected of carrying arms to Libya.

Turkey has dismissed the allegations as “groundless”, insisting its vessels only observed the warship. It accused the French ship of a “high-speed and dangerous manoeuvre”.

France on Wednesday said it was suspending its participation in the NATO mission, known as Operation Sea Guardian, until its concerns are addressed.

The spat is the latest flareup between the two countries which have exchanged barbs in recent days over their roles in the conflict in Libya.

Ankara supports the UNrecognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya against rebel strongman Khalifa Haftar.