Turkish defence minister Güler courts Cairo: a maritime deal with Turkey would give Egypt “15,000 sq km more” than one with Greece

Turkey’s Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler has put an open proposal to Cairo: a maritime-zone delimitation agreement with Turkey which, he argues, would give Egypt roughly 15,000 square kilometres more maritime jurisdiction than a possible agreement with Greece. Güler spoke in an interview with Star Haber, which CNN Türk published on Friday, October 23.

“We are ready to sign a maritime jurisdiction delimitation agreement with Egypt as well. Our proposal to Egypt is clear: if Egypt signs such an agreement with our country, it will have about 15 thousand square kilometres more maritime jurisdiction compared with a possible agreement with Greece,” he said. These are claims by the Turkish minister, which Greece does not accept.

The Turkish minister made the offer while talking about the illegal 2019 Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which the Libyan House of Representatives recently ratified. Egypt has already taken a position: its foreign ministry rejected the ratification on October 21, saying it has no legal effect for Cairo, that it considers the text void and that it violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The next day Giorgos Gerapetritis and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty agreed to continue consultations on extending the Greek-Egyptian delimitation.

Greece and Egypt signed a partial EEZ delimitation agreement in August 2020, which left open the remaining part of the sea area between the two countries. Ankara does not recognise that agreement. Güler’s proposal comes just as Athens and Cairo are discussing precisely the extension of that delimitation.

The Mecca Agreement and the Houthis

In the same interview Güler spoke about the Mecca Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, whose ratification by the Turkish Grand National Assembly is pending. Riyadh’s requests will be examined once ratification is complete, he said, and the scope of assistance will be set within the limits of the authorisation the Assembly gives.

Asked whether Turkish soldiers could end up facing the Houthis, who continue attacks on Saudi Arabia, he was categorical: “In this context, as in Qatar, the main purpose of our possible military support to Saudi Arabia will be to strengthen deterrence. We certainly do not foresee getting into a conflict with the Houthis. Our priority is to prevent new tensions emerging in the region and to contribute to security and stability.”

The Turkish minister also referred to the “Bedir” Memorandum of Understanding that Ankara signed with Qatar, Indonesia and Pakistan, calling it “an important development for our multilateral military cooperation”. With the memorandum, he said, the four countries seek to combine their means and capabilities and take their defence relations “to a more advanced level”.