France announced Thursday that it will deploy two warplanes, and reinforce its presence in the eastern Mediterranean with one of its warships.
The French Ministry of Defense said that France will send two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate Lafayette to the eastern Mediterranean as part of plans to increase its military presence in the region, amid indications of tension with Turkey, the Reuters News Agency reported.
Earlier in the week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Turkey to stop drilling for oil and gas in disputed waters in that region, which led to an escalation of tensions with Greece.
Macron had rejected Turkey’s “dangerous and unilateral” steps, expressing his grave concern about the tensions caused by the “unilateral” Turkish decision to drill in the eastern Mediterranean region.
A statement by the French presidency stated that Paris decided to temporarily reinforce its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, in order to respect international law.
Macron called for the opening of a “peaceful dialogue” between Turkey, its neighboring countries and NATO partners.
Trending
- Egypt Warns of Wider Conflict as Regional Tensions Intensify
- Israel is at war with its neighbors and wants to annex them
- “Turkey in the Crossfire as Iran–U.S.–Israel Conflict Expands”
- “Leadership in the Shadow of War: Mojtaba Khamenei Becomes Iran’s Supreme Leader”
- “The fate of the resistance and Lebanon will be decided on the battlefield”: interview with Jamal Wakim
- Will Iraq stand against the US-Israeli war on Iran?
- Saudi Arabia picks Syria as the new transit state for the East-to-Mediterranean Data Corridor
- EU, UN, Russia and regional leaders condemn Israeli plan to take the West Bank and eliminate Christians
