Speakers: Turkish troops unwanted
Libya, Cyprus leaders blast Erdogan
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Turkey’s willingness to dispatch troops to Libya is “unacceptable” and such a move would constitute unwanted meddling in the affairs of a friendly country, the speaker of the North African country’s parliament said Saturday.
Aguila Saleh said in a joint statement with his Cypriot counterpart that Turkey’s actions are increasing tensions and destabilizing the region.
Mr. Saleh and Cypriot parliamentary speaker Demetris Syllouris also reiterated their condemnation of a maritime border agreement that Turkey signed with Libya’s Tripoli-based government — but which hasn’t been ratified by the Libyan parliament — as a “flagrant violation of international law that’s devoid of any legal basis.”
According to the Cyprus News Agency, Mr. Saleh said Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj isn’t authorized to sign any agreements on his own because any such deal requires unanimous approval from the nine-member presidential council and parliament’s assent.
Mr. Sarraj is battling an offensive launched in April by the rival government based in eastern Libya and forces loyal to commander Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to take Tripoli, the capital.
The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violence rivaling the 2011 conflict that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Saleh said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took advantage of the divisions within Libya, as well as Tripoli’s control by “terrorist groups,” to get the agreements approved.
According to Mr. Saleh, Mr. Erdogan’s aim “is to provoke countries in the eastern Mediterranean and to interfere in their exclusive economic zones without taking account these countries’ sovereign rights at sea and in the air.”
A senior Cypriot government official told The Associated Press that Mr. Saleh asked European Union member Cyprus to convey to the 28-member bloc that deployment of Turkish forces in his country would destabilize the entire region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to disclose details of the Libyan official’s visit.
On a surprise visit to Tunisia earlier this week, Mr. Erdogan reiterated that his county would evaluate sending soldiers to Libya if there is an invitation from Tripoli, where Mr. Sarraj’s United Nations-supported but weak administration is based.
Turkey has signed maritime and agreements with the Libyan government that controls Tripoli and some of the country’s west.
The military deal allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel, along with weapons, despite a U.N. arms embargo that has been violated by other international actors.