Libya’s United Nations (UN)-recognized government has accepted Turkey’s offer of military and logistical support against enemy forces attacking Tripoli, al-Jazeera reported on Thursday citing sources within the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
Since 2014, Libya has been split into two rival groups, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s GNA, which rules the western part and military commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) which controls the oil-rich eastern side of the country.
“We are getting news from sources with the GNA in Tripoli after a very important meeting between government officials and military commanders … involved with defending the capital from Haftar’s forces,” Mahmoud Abdelwahed reported from al-Jazeera.
Later, the GNA confirmed the report with an official statement, saying the GNA cabinet had unanimously approved the implementation of a memorandum of understanding sealed between the GNA leader and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in November, without giving more detail.
On November 27, Erdogan and al-Sarraj signed an agreement on security and military cooperation along with a controversial deal on the two countries’ maritime borders in the eastern Mediterranean.
The report on the security accord came after the two leaders came together for the second time in Istanbul on Sunday.
Following the closed-door meeting, Erdogan said Turkey was “ready to provide all sorts of help to Libya” and would will “decide what initiative to take” by itself.
On Monday, the military cooperation deal was approved by the Foreign Relations Commission of the Turkish Parliament. Opposition parties are against it.
With the cooperation, a Quick Reaction Force is planned for police and military units of the GNA government.
In April, forces loyal to Haftar launched a campaign to wrestle the control of the capital, Tripoli, but could not manage to break through the GNA’s defenses. Haftar said last week that he would soon commence a “decisive battle” to capture the city.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss Turkey’s security-related offer to the GNA during talks next month in Ankara.
“We will speed up the process between Turkey and Libya. We told them that we are always ready to help if they need it. From military and security cooperation to steps taken regarding our maritime rights – we are ready,” Erdogan said on Wednesday.
Similar to the situation in Syria, the two countries back different parties in Libya.
Turkey, together with its regional ally Qatar back the GNA government, while Russia supports the LNA forces, along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After emerging as the most potent player in Syria’s complex war, Putin was this time trying to increase Russian influence in the region, according to Sami Hamdi, editor-in-chief of the United Kingdom-based International Interest magazine.
“Libya, for Russia, is simply a pressure point to use against the Turks to get some concessions, whether that’s in Syria, or any other point of conflict, and to pressure the United States (US) in terms of trying to exert itself. Russia is exerting itself as the new superpower. We have seen that in Syria. It saved [President] Bashar al-Assad, and it is now starting to court the Middle East states,” Hamdi said.
Previously, Erdogan claimed that sending troops to Libya would not violate the arms embargo imposed by the UN on the country.
However, a UN report revealed last month that Jordan, the UAE, and Turkey had regularly violated its arms embargo on Libya since 2011.
Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted following a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
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The post Libya’s UN-recognized government approves military deal with Turkey appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2019/12/20/libyas-un-recognized-government-approves-military-deal-with-turkey/
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