Treasure trove: why countries intensify the struggle for the Mediterranean

In recent years, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean has become very complicated. Large world-class oil and gas companies, as well as countries of the region, such as Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt, entered the battle for oil and gas fields.

It should be noted that what is happening is directly reflected in various conflicts in the region. This can lead to a change in the balance of forces in the planet’s energy market, as well as affect the militarypolitical alliances. After all, the Eastern Mediterranean turned out to be a storehouse of treasures; therefore, states and private corporations intensified the struggle for their possession.



The first major gas field in its waters was discovered in 2001 in an exceptional economic zone of Israel ("Tamar" - 200 billion cubic meters). Then, powerful gas fields were discovered off the coast of Egypt (Zohr - 850 billion cubic meters) and on the shelf of Cyprus (Aphrodite - 200 billion cubic meters). Syria and Lebanon also announced their intention to begin exploration and production. At the same time, Ankara began to actively oppose Cyprus, saying that Nicosia’s actions directly harm the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has complicated relations with Greece.

In November 2019, Turkey entered into two treaties with the Government of Libyan National Accord. The first implied militarytechnical cooperation between Tripoli and Ankara. The second - distributes sea zones in the Eastern Mediterranean in the way that is beneficial to Turkey, which caused an international scandal. In response, Greece stated that it was ready to defend its interests with the help of military force.

To strengthen its position, Turkey adopted the Blue Motherland doctrine. Ankara has assumed the right to intervene in conflicts in the region. After that, Turkey sent its aircraft to the territory of Libya, and the ships of the Turkish Navy began to patrol the western coast of this country.

Thus, Turkey took a direct part in the civil war in Libya, which since the spring of 2014 has been waged between the PNS and the Libyan National Army. Moreover, the LNA openly supports neighboring Egypt, which is ready to get involved in the ongoing conflict. Cairo has already deployed its navy to patrol the east coast of Libya.

The described indicates that an explosive situation has developed in the region. Whether the parties will aggravate or sit at the negotiating table, time will tell.