Germany and Malta urge talks to avert escalation of Mediterranean tensions

Foreign ministers call for dialogue between Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and France

Germany and Malta have urged Turkey and rival European and regional powers to de-escalate their dispute over maritime territory and energy resources that risks destabilising the Mediterranean region.

Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, on Tuesday visited his Greek and Turkish counterparts in a bid to defuse tensions following Turkey’s decision to mount a new naval expedition to search for gas – a move that sparked the ire of Greece and Cyprus.

“The current situation in the eastern Mediterranean is . . . playing with fire, and any spark, however small, could lead to a disaster,” Mr Maas was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. “No one can have an interest in that, and certainly not in a military confrontation between Nato partners and neighbours.”

His comments echoed those of Evarist Bartolo, Malta’s foreign minister, to the Financial Times. “If they are on very bad terms and there’s a lot of hostility, it is going to spill over into the rest of the Mediterranean,” Mr Bartolo said in an interview. “It’s in our interests to as much as possible find ways of de-escalating and having dialogue, however difficult it is.”

The calls for de-escalation came as France deployed naval vessels and fighter aircraft earlier this month and Athens warned that the risk of an accidental flare-up among the countries involved was rising.

Long-simmering tensions have been exacerbated by the civil conflict in Libya as competing foreign powers have backed rival factions in the oil-rich north African state. Relations between Paris and Ankara have become increasingly fraught since Turkey intervened militarily to support Libya’s UNbacked government in its fight with Khalifa Haftar, a renegade general.

France has provided political support to Gen Haftar, who is also backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. Turkey’s intervention led to a string of defeats for Gen Haftar’s forces, shifting the balance of the conflict in the

UN-backed government’s favour and frustrating Ankara’s rivals.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to step up support for the Tripoli-based government after sealing a maritime deal that could enable Ankara to explore of gas and oil off Libya’s Mediterranean coast.

The deal infuriated Greece and Cyprus, and in May they issued a joint declaration with the UAE, Egypt and France condemning Ankara’s activities in the Mediterranean.

The UAE, which views Turkey as a malign force in the Middle East, this week dispatched four F-16 fighter jets to a military base on Crete for a joint training exercise with the Greek air force, a Greek defence official said.

A Greek defence analyst said the two-day exercise, arranged last week at a meeting held by the two countries’ foreign ministers, represented a show of support for Greece by its regional allies. Greece has agreed to hold a similar exercise with Egypt’s air force, while Israel stages regular training missions in Greek airspace over the Aegean.

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss the developments in the eastern Mediterranean at an informal meeting in Berlin this week, ahead of talks by bloc leaders at a summit in Brussels in September.

But there are differences of opinion over Turkey within the EU, which has so far imposed only largely symbolic sanctions over Ankara’s energy expeditions in waters off Cyprus. While demands from Greece and Cyprus for a tougher line against Ankara have attracted increasing support from France, many other EU member states are reluctant to undermine the relationship with Turkey, given the country’s importance for migration policy, counter-terrorism and trade.

Both Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, and Germany, holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, have sought to deepen dialogue with Mr Erdogan’s government. By contrast, France has deployed a helicopter carrier, a frigate and two Rafale fighter jets in the eastern Mediterranean.

Asked if he thought Paris’s move was helpful, Mr Bartolo replied: “I think that whatever step we need to take it’s important that it doesn’t lead to a vicious circle. I appreciated a lot what Germany is doing. I think that Germany is a great stabiliser, moderator, talking to different countries, keeping an open channel of communication. I think that is crucial to do that.”

The dynamics of the eastern Mediterranean dispute are further complicated by overlapping international alliances. Turkey is a member of Nato but not the EU, while Malta and Cyprus are in the European bloc but not the military alliance. Greece and France are members of both.

Mr Bartolo said speculation that Turkey wanted to use an air base in Malta to help its military support for the UN-backed government in Libya was “rubbish”. “There has been no such request,” he said. “We are a tiny, neutral country – it’s in our constitution. It’s not in our interests and I think it’s not in the interests of the Mediterranean for Malta to be used against any neighbouring country.”

Mr Bartolo said he hoped a big Black Sea gas discovery announced by Turkey last week would make it “more calm and strategic” about the eastern Mediterranean – even as Mr Erdogan vowed that Turkey would accelerate its exploration activities in the area.