Özel accuses Erdoğan government of foreign policy failures over Libya deal

Attack on the Libya memorandum

Özgür Özel, leader of Turkey's main opposition, criticised the government on Tuesday, 27 October, saying the maritime memorandum Ankara signed with Libya does not secure Turkish rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. Speaking at a meeting of his party's provincial chairs, he argued that the Greece-Egypt maritime agreement is broadly accepted internationally, while the Turkish-Libyan deal is criticised and rejected by European partners. Özel said he had been the lawmaker who pushed for the Libya deal to be ratified and filed with the United Nations so Turkey could gain the initiative. He blamed the AKP for lacking foresight and for what he called illogical moves in foreign policy. He also said strained relations with Egypt had left Erdoğan waiting at President Sisi's door.

Air power and concessions to Washington

Özel turned next to military aviation, saying Turkey was pushed out of the F-35 programme even though Turkish pilots had been sent to train on the aircraft. He said Ankara had not recovered the money it had paid into the project. Referring to remarks by US President Donald Trump about a possible surprise for Turkey, he asked whether it would involve F-35 jets or an engine for the domestically developed KAAN fighter, and said neither had arrived. He argued that Greece and Israel have the most modern F-16s, and that Turkey has not carried out the modernisation its own F-16s need. He added that Turkish fighters fly blind for minutes at a time while Greek and Israeli radars can track them from long distances. He also listed what he said Ankara had given Washington, including 250 Boeing aircraft, LNG at high prices, zero tariffs on US goods and rare earths mostly found in Eskişehir.

Defence, trade and the EU

Özel criticised Ankara for failing to secure a place in SAFE, a European defence programme worth 150 billion euros. He said Turkey keeps repeating that European security is impossible without Turkey, yet it was left out because of government mistakes. He pointed to Turkish F-16s deployed for air policing over the Baltic states, saying they bring goodwill toward NATO but no matching political or economic return. On trade, he said Ankara has not managed to revise its customs union with the European Union and risks exclusion from the Made in Europe initiative. He stated that about 70% of Turkish exports go to Europe, and warned that new European tariffs could hit production, especially the car industry. He said Germany and France had agreed to the bill and that Europe treats Turkey as if it were China.

Fidan remarks and Ankara's reply

Özel turned his fire on Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, arguing that Fidan's comments on the 12 nautical mile limit, the casus belli doctrine and laying undersea electricity cables in the Aegean amounted to a retreat from long-held Turkish positions. He claimed Greece could lay a cable after a simple notification, and said Ankara was giving ground on casus belli as well. He described the government's line as a foreign policy of sell-off and retreat. On Tuesday, 27 October, the Turkish foreign ministry rejected claims that Fidan had given an interview to a Greek newspaper, saying his remarks at a Brussels think-tank event had been distorted and misread. The ministry said Turkey's positions on the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean remain unchanged and will be defended under international law without concessions. It also accused critics of turning foreign policy into a domestic political dispute.