Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said his government is ready to provide Tripoli any military support it needs, reported Reuters.
“We will be protecting the rights of Libya and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Erdogan said. “We are more than ready to give whatever support necessary to Libya.”
After a meeting with Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Istanbul, Erdogan said Khalifa Haftar, who leads forces in eastern Libya, is not a legitimate leader and is representative of an illegal structure.
The statement comes after the Turkey government reaffirmed military support for Libya’s internationally recognized government as it sent a bilateral deal proposal to the Turkish parliament on Saturday that calls for sending troops to Tripoli.
Last week, Turkey signed a military co-operation agreement with GNA that enables it to request troops from Turkey. The agreement provides for a so-called quick reaction force for police and military in Libya, as well as enhanced cooperation on intelligence and defence.
The two countries also signed a memorandum on maritime boundaries that Greece said violates international law. The maritime deal has been sent for approval to the United Nations.
Soon after Turkey indicated it was ready to send in troops to help Libya’s UN-backed government, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said foreign powers should stop intervening in Libya.
He said the fighting in Libya directly affects Egypt’s security.
“We could have intervened in Libya. But we didn’t do this and respected Libya’s circumstances to preserve fraternity,” el-Sissi said.
Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), on Thursday urged his forces to advance towards the centre of Tripoli for a final battle to get control over the Libyan capital, Tripoli. More than 200 civilians and 2,000 fighters have been killed since the start of Haftar’s assault in April.
