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The Friendship Sea military exercise was the first joint naval exercise of Türkiye and Egypt in more than a decade. Apart from this highlight, the exercise conducted on Sept. 22-26 comes amid tensions with Greece, Greek Cypriots and Israel.
Defense Ministry sources said on Thursday that Türkiye is working for stability and peace in the region. “Our work with Egypt and Libya does not target third countries. We are pursuing a win-win formula to develop bilateral relations and want the Mediterranean to be a sea of peace,” sources said, without naming third countries.
The exercise began at a key naval base in southwestern Türkiye and was attended by naval commanders from both countries. The Turkish navy showcased its arsenal and frigates at the exercise, which took place at a time of rapid developments in the local defense industry.
Turkish-Egyptian ties have seen a diplomatic lull for years before they gained momentum two years ago, especially after the deadly earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye. Egypt’s outreach for humanitarian assistance contributed to the shifting pace in relations and culminated in mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries. Changing dynamics in the region, especially after the start of a new round of Israeli aggression targeting Palestinians in 2023, brought the two countries closer. Egypt, which once emerged as a key rival of Türkiye in the Mediterranean Sea, is now warmer to Ankara. For political pundits, this may disturb Türkiye’s historic foe, Greece, which itself sought rapprochement with Türkiye, as well as Israel, which seeks closer ties with Greek Cypriots in the Mediterranean.
Aircraft to Lithuania
Also on Thursday, the Defense Ministry acknowledged the deployment of an aircraft to Lithuania. Ministry spokesperson Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk said the warning and control aircraft were temporarily deployed as part of NATO security measures. Aktürk did not elaborate further.
Several European countries, including Lithuania, have reported Russian drones or fighter jets violating their airspace in recent weeks.
“Within the scope of NATO Assurance Measures, our Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft is carrying out missions in Lithuanian airspace between Sept. 22 and 25,” Aktürk told a press briefing in Ankara.
AWACS are capable of detecting low-flying drones and other objects that ground radars miss.
Poland has shot down some of the drones, and Lithuania’s Parliament on Tuesday granted the armed forces the power to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace.
Western officials say Russia is carrying out the airspace violations to test NATO’s readiness and resolve. Estonia and Poland have requested that the alliance initiate consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty.
Article 4 says members of NATO will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.
Türkiye, NATO’s second-largest army, has strong ties with Russia in areas including energy and tourism. It has condemned Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provided Kyiv with military support, but refrained from joining Western sanctions against Russia as part of a balancing act that it says helps it talk to both sides. The result was hosting multiple rounds of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. Although talks did not produce a lasting peace, they paved the way for sporadic cessation of hostilities, prisoner exchanges, and, at one point, the secure shipment of grain from Ukraine to other countries through the increasingly volatile Black Sea.
Action against YPG
Another pressing issue for Türkiye is the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG, which has still not followed up on its deal with Damascus to integrate with the post-Assad Syrian army. The YPG is the Syrian wing of the PKK, which recently started a disarmament process. The YPG did not join the process and remains a grave security risk for Türkiye as it operates immediately on the other side of the Turkish-Syrian border.
Türkiye is closely and carefully monitoring contacts between the Syrian government and the terrorist organization YPG/PKK-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), defense sources said.
Recent attacks targeting Syrian government forces in the rural areas of Manbij and Aleppo have once again revealed that the YPG is not acting in accordance with the memorandum it signed with the Syrian government on March 10, 2025, and continues to pose a threat to regional peace and stability, the sources said.
“Türkiye remains committed to close cooperation with the Syrian government, primarily in the fight against terrorist groups, for the stability and security of Syria and peace in our region,” the sources said. “We support the principle of ‘One State, One Army.’”
In response to questions regarding the recent visit of the Syrian Navy commander to Ankara, following the earlier visit of the Syrian Air Force commander, ministry sources stated that Türkiye would provide all necessary support to help strengthen Syria’s defense and security capacity.
They pointed out that the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries in August has accelerated mutual visits. “Training and exchanges will continue on a reciprocal basis. These commander-level visits are being carried out within that framework,” sources said.
