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Turkey’s Foreign Ministry says Ankara has summoned ambassadors from the European Union, Italy and Germany to protest against German soldiers searching a Turkish freighter.
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Frigates of the German Navy
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said Ankara summoned the ambassadors of the European Union, Italy and Germany to protest against German soldiers searching a Turkish freighter without the express consent of the Turkish authorities in search of an alleged shipment of weapons to Libya.
On Sunday night, the German frigate “Hamburg” stopped the freighter “MV Roslyn A” flying the Turkish flag, as part of the European operation “Ireni” that ensures compliance with the UN arms embargo imposed by the United Nations. According to Ankara, the Turkish ship stopped in the southwestern Peloponnese and was transporting food and humanitarian aid to Misrata.
Armed German soldiers were dropped onto the ship from a helicopter, according to video clips filmed by the crew and broadcast by Turkish media, before taking over the control room.
“All members of the crew, including the captain, were forcibly searched. They were all gathered in a room to be detained,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
For its part, the German army confirmed that Turkey prevented German forces operating within a European Union military mission from inspecting a Turkish freighter “believed to carry weapons to Libya,” according to “Reuters.”
A German military spokesman indicated that “soldiers from the frigate“ Hamburg ”boarded the Turkish ship, Rosalina-A, during the night of Monday, but were forced not to carry out inspections and withdrew, after Turkey protested against the European mission. .
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