President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the Turkey government is ready to send military troops to Libya following a request by the North African country. The Turkish president said he will present deployment legislation before the parliament in January, reported Reuters.
“Since there is an invitation (from Libya) right now, we will accept it,” Erdogan told members of his AK Party in a speech. “We will put the bill on sending troops to Libya on the agenda as soon as parliament opens.”
He said that the legislation would pass around Jan. 8-9.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Erdogan made a surprise visit to Tunisia where he met with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, to discuss developments in neighboring Libya. He said Turkey and Tunisia have agreed to support the GNA. He was accompanied by his foreign and defence ministers, and his intelligence chief. The visit was the first by a head of state to Tunisia since the election of President Kais Saied in October elections.
Erdogan and Saied discussed cooperation for a possible ceasefire in Libya and bringing warring factions back to the negotiating table.
“We discussed the possible steps we can take and cooperation opportunities with the aim of establishing a ceasefire in Libya as soon as possible and returning to a political process,” the Turkish president said.
Last month, Turkey signed a maritime delimitation agreement and a military cooperation deal with Fayez al-Sarraj’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The move enraged Greece which says the deal violates international law, but Ankara says it aims to protect its rights in the region and is in full compliance with maritime laws.
Libya is currently in the middle of a war-like situation as forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to capture Tripoli from the Libyan government in April. Haftar has received backing from Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
