Haftar Urges Arab Stance to Confront Turkish Meddling in Libya as Macron, Sisi Discuss Crisis

  • 12/31/2019
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Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar called for Arab countries to rally behind Libya against Turkey’s ambitions in the country. Haftar had arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to address how to prevent Ankara’s intervention in Libya. He appealed for support to the LNA and lifting of the arms embargo against it, reported Al-Arabiya. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his governments decision to seek parliamentary consent to send troops to Libya, at the request of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The troops would help to defend the GNA against the LNA. Last month, Turkey signed two separate accords with the GNA, one on security and military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara has also sent military supplies to the Fayez al-Sarraj’s GNA despite a United Nations embargo, according to a UN report seen by Reuters last month. Earlier, Sisi held telephone talks with French President Emmanuel Macron over the situation in Libya. They warned against any military escalation in the North African country, urging all parties involved to exercise the greatest restraint. They urged the need to relaunch negotiations between Libyan parties to resolve their conflict. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri held telephone talks with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on Libya. The officials rejected any military intervention in the country. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said they stressed the need to intensify efforts to restore security and stability in Libya. Also on Monday, United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame warned that the maritime agreement between Erdogan and Sarraj would expose Libya to foreign intervention. The agreement between them also threatens to escalate the conflict in Libya.

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