‘Russia wants to re-establish ties with Libya’s Government of National Accord’

A senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Russia wants to re-establish ties with the head of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj. Yasin Aktay’s comments were made on Wednesday when he wrote to Yeni Safak.

“[Al Sarraj] has become the most important player in Libya, with whom everyone, primarily Russia, wants to re-establish ties,” wrote Aktay. “Libya’s pro-coup parties jumped out of the frying pan into the fire by striking poses with Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Cairo. They were later joined by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, Saudi Arabia and France.”

According to the Turkish official, France’s activities in Libya go against the values of the EU and NATO. “France’s attitude toward Libya is viewed as strange in both Europe and NATO, because it is now being considered as a sort of autonomy that does not comply with any ethics of the alliance.”

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NATO’s strongest countries, he pointed out, are the US, Turkey, Britain, Germany and Italy. “They have taken a completely different attitude than France has regarding this matter. NATO and the US are rapidly adopting the stance of Turkey, which is providing support to Libya’s legitimate government.”

Aktay reported that Erdogan and US President Donald Trump spoke with each other on Tuesday. The conversation apparently focused mainly on Libya and a consensus was reached during their conversation. “Yet, allow me to reiterate that it was only six months ago that Trump had a telephone call with Libya’s putschist General [Khalifa Haftar].”

He concluded by pointing out that the GNA has, with Turkey’s support, made “great advances in the field” against forces loyal to Haftar.