Egypt hopes to strengthen its regional and international relevance by offering to mediate in maritime disputes over hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean Sea. The most recent flare-up over the waters relates to a new memorandum of understanding between Libya and a Turkish state-owned firm to conduct seismic research in 10,000 square kilometres off Libya’s Mediterranean coast.
Greece has expressed outright opposition, with its Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis calling it "unacceptable", "illegal" and "baseless" on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague. A short time earlier, Athens announced plans to deploy naval units off the Libyan coast under the pretext of curbing rampant illegal migration from Libya. Greece and Libya have already sparred over the seismic research deal at the United Nations Security Council. Mitsotakis also raised the issue at a European Council summit in Brussels held two days after the NATO meeting.
All eyes will be on Türkiye’s reaction, which could define the course of events for the coming weeks and months. The recent flare-up threatens improved relations between Cairo and Ankara, after a prolonged period of conflict.
How we got here
But to appreciate the current state of events, it's important to rewind to 2013 to understand how we got here. Türkiye had opposed the 2013 toppling of Mohamed Morsi, who had been democratically elected as president the year before. Egyptian president. It had been in place since the Arab Spring uprising, having overthrown Hosni Mubarak, Cairo’s long-time president, in 2011.
Ankara campaigned against the new authorities in Egypt, which were installed by the army, with General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi appointed as president. Türkiye hosted Muslim Brotherhood leaders and provided a springboard for media campaigns hostile to Egypt's post-Brotherhood government. This sequence of events hardened Egypt’s view of Türkiye as an enemy, and led Cairo to cosy up to Athens—a long-time foe of Ankara—in response.