Concerned Countries Gather About Turkey

Six countries in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East met for the first time in Athens as the Forum for Friendship.

All six have problems with the policies of President Erdogan’s Turkish government. They are Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The host, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, opened the meeting and said that the forum does not explicitly target other states.

It aims to serve international law and maritime law and cooperate in conflict resolution, security, health care, energy production and environmental issues. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian watched through a screen.

The collection of European and Arab countries do not all have the same conflicts with Turkey. They include the rights to exploit mineral resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and Erdogan’s ambitions to give Turkey a leading role in Islam.