Turkey’s main opposition leader, Özgür Özel, launched a fierce attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his government, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan over the controversial Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum and the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. Özel drew a sharp comparison between the international reception of the Greece-Egypt maritime agreement and the widespread rejection of Turkey’s deal with Libya.
Opposition leader’s criticism of Erdoğan
According to Özel, Turkey has failed to secure international recognition for the Turkey-Libya memorandum, while the Greece-Egypt maritime agreement continues to be acknowledged by other nations. He pointed to a lack of strategic vision and what he described as “irrational maneuvers” in the ruling party’s foreign policy, while also firing criticism over Turkey’s exclusion from the European SAFE defense program, the F-35 dispute, Greece’s military upgrades, and the broader situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The Greece-Egypt agreement is accepted by everyone”
Özel placed particular emphasis on the contentious Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum. While stating that he supports the agreement in principle, he argued that it falls short of effectively protecting Turkish claims in the Eastern Mediterranean — a direct rebuke of Erdoğan’s approach. “The agreement signed between Egypt and Greece is accepted by everyone, while our agreement with Libya — signed between two sovereign states — is criticized, condemned, and rejected by arrogant Europeans,” he said.
He further argued that the deterioration of relations between Ankara and Cairo had forced Erdoğan to “wait at Sisi’s door.” “This is the situation that the shortsighted AKP and its irrational foreign policy maneuvers have brought us to,” he added.
Turkey’s exclusion from the SAFE program
Özel accused the Turkish government of failing to secure the country’s inclusion in the EU’s SAFE defense program. “At every meeting abroad, we say that European security cannot be achieved without Turkey,” he noted.
“Turkey, which rushes in whenever called upon for security matters and sends its F-16s to protect Baltic airspace, failed to be included in this massive program due to the AKP’s personal relationships and incompetent management,” he said. He also addressed the failure to renegotiate the Customs Union with the European Union, as well as Turkey’s exclusion from the European “Made in Europe” initiative.
“No engine has been delivered for the KAAN fighter jet, and no F-35s have arrived,” Özel stated. “As if it weren’t enough that F-35s were sold to Israel and Greece, the most advanced F-16 upgrades are also now in the hands of Greece and Israel,” he added. “Your friend Trump, despite repeating it for two years, was unable to lift the CAATSA sanctions,” he noted. He also singled out the S-400 missile systems: “Where are the S-400s? They opened the lid once for a test and they remain in the hangar. Whatever happened to the S-400 fairy tale?” he asked.
Attack on Foreign Minister Fidan
Özel also directed criticism at Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan over his recent statements regarding the potential extension of Greek territorial waters. Özel pointed out that Fidan had deviated from Turkey’s established 1995 position on the matter. “What he’s essentially saying is: ‘Up to 11.9 miles, I have nothing to say,'” he argued. On the subject of the casus belli declaration, he remarked: “That kind of language can only come from a Greek diplomat.”
The Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection
Özel also weighed in on the planned electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus. He proposed that Turkey could serve as a transit route for electricity to Cyprus. “Is a 2,000-kilometer cable realistic? Let us supply the electricity from just 70 kilometers away,” he said. He simultaneously criticized Ankara’s position that no permit is required for submarine cable-laying operations in the region. “These are the results of a foreign policy built on sellouts and retreats,” he concluded.
