Turkey presents surprising proposal to Egypt in the Mediterranean - and Greece may pay the price

Turkey has announced its willingness to open negotiations with Egypt on a new maritime boundary agreement in the Mediterranean, which it claims would grant Egypt over 15,000 additional square kilometers. The move comes against the backdrop of the Turkey-Libya agreement and the struggle with Greece over Mediterranean resources.

Turkey has announced that it is ready to open negotiations with Egypt on a new maritime boundary agreement in the Mediterranean, which it claims would grant Egypt over 15,000 additional square kilometers compared to a possible agreement with Greece. The Turkish Defense Ministry issued an official statement on the willingness to sign an agreement delimiting maritime jurisdiction areas, but this is a Turkish assessment that has not been independently verified. The move follows the approval of the Turkish-Libyan agreement, which has drawn opposition from Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt, who argue it infringes on their sovereign rights. The European Union has previously criticized the agreement. Egypt faces a strategic choice: on one hand, there has been a significant improvement in relations with Turkey in recent years; on the other hand, just last week the foreign ministers of Egypt and Greece clarified that they reject the approval of the Turkish-Libyan agreement and are holding talks to expand their maritime agreement eastward. The Turkish move may also have implications for Israel's interests, as it maintains energy cooperation with Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.