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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that his country will respond in the field to the inspection of his ship and will follow legal and political procedures.
Çavuşolu said that the Ankara Embassy in Rome and the relevant addresses of the Foreign Ministry issued the necessary warnings about the impossibility of allowing the LK ship to board without permission from the flag state.
He added: “After issuing the necessary warnings, the other party told us: we have informed them. I do not care about the decisions of the Security Council or international law.”
Turkey and Germany exchanged accusations on Tuesday after German soldiers boarded a Turkish ship under a European Union military mission in the Mediterranean.
Germany described the protests by Turkey, its NATO ally, as unjustified, while Ankara says this step is illegal.
Turkey protested on Monday after German forces from the European Union mission tasked with implementing the international arms embargo on Libya “Irene” stepped up and attempted to search a Turkish freighter suspected of illegally transporting weapons to Libya.
Turkey said the ship was carrying humanitarian aid, adding that the German team violated international law by not waiting for Turkish permission to board the Rosalyn-A.
Ankara summoned the ambassadors of the European Union, Germany and Italy to protest.
On Tuesday, German Defense Minister Angret Kramp-Karenbauer said the Turkish protests were unjustified.
“The soldiers acted appropriately and in full compliance with the European mandate, Irene,” he added.
“The accusations against the soldiers are not justified,” he added.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the move “completely contradicts international law”, adding that Ankara is formulating measures to protect Turkish commercial ships.
“This step was carried out in total violation of international law and in violation of similar precedents,” he said. “A mistake was made.”
He added: “Unfortunately, the statements of our allies do not fully reflect the truth. Some facts are being suppressed.”
The two countries stated that nothing suspicious had been detected on the tanker.
This incident comes at a time of rupture in relations between Turkey and the European Union.
The EU foreign policy official said relations had reached a “watershed moment” due to Turkey’s oil exploration in waters that Greece and Cyprus say are theirs.
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