Turkish opposition leader Özgür Özel has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of letting Greece gain the upper hand over Turkey in the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean and the skies.
Speaking to his party’s provincial chairs in Ankara on Tuesday, Özel argued that foreign policy mistakes had left Turkey isolated. He pointed to Greece’s maritime deal with Egypt, its newer fighter jets and Turkey’s exclusion from European defence funds.
Özgür Özel founded the New Party in July, after a court removed him as CHP leader. His new party is now the main opposition in Turkey’s parliament.
Libya deal fails to win friends
First, Özel said Turkey valued its maritime memorandum with Libya, but the deal alone could not protect Turkish rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. In his view, Ankara’s broken ties with Cairo made things worse.
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“The agreement Egypt signed with Greece is accepted by everyone, while our agreement with Libya is criticised, condemned and not accepted by insolent Europeans,” he said.
Greece and its allies have rejected the Turkey-Libya deal as illegal, Greek City Times reported. Özel also mocked Erdogan for ending up “waiting at Sisi’s door”.
He also criticised Turkey’s exclusion from SAFE, the European Union’s €150 billion defence fund. In fact, Turkey sends F-16s to help protect Baltic airspace, Özel noted.
Likewise, he warned that the EU had left Turkey out of its “Made in Europe” rules. Nor has the bloc updated its customs union with Ankara. As a result, the Turkish car industry faces a “crushing blow”, he said.
“They are treating Turkey as if it were China,” Özgür Özel told the meeting.
Özgür Özel turns to F-35s and Fidan
Turning to Washington, Özel said Turkey had bought 250 Boeing aircraft and paid high prices for gas. It also offered rare earths to win favour with US President Donald Trump. Yet US sanctions on Turkey remain in place.
By contrast, Trump lifted the arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus, which Özel called “South Cyprus”. Washington sold F-35s to Greece and Israel, along with the most modern F-16s, he said. Turkey, however, lost its place in the F-35 program.
Özgür Özel also mocked Turkey’s Russian S-400 air defence systems. Turkey has switched them on only once, for a test, and they now sit in a hangar, he said.
Finally, Özel turned on Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whom he called “the TikToker Mr Hakan”. He accused Fidan of telling a Greek newspaper that extending Greek territorial waters to 12 miles is no casus belli. The Latin term means a cause for war.
Turkey’s position, Özel said, rejects any extension beyond six miles. Turning to Fidan’s past as intelligence chief, he added: “Such ignorance is only possible with bad intent.”
Similarly, he argued that Fidan’s request for notice of cable surveys, rather than a permit, had weakened Ankara. Since then, Greece has rejected even notification, Özgür Özel said.
Later on Tuesday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry denied that Fidan had given an interview to a Greek newspaper. The ministry also insisted that Turkey’s positions on the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean remain unchanged, Turkish media reported.
(Source: ERT News)
