Turkey will remain in Libya until gov't says we are not needed, official says

Turkish troops stationed in Libya will remain there as long as a bilateral military agreement between Ankara and Tripoli is active and Libya’s government requests it, Reuters reported presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin saying yesterday.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would discuss withdrawing its troops, who Ankara says are providing military training to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) if other foreign powers are withdrawn first.

In an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber, Kalin said Turkish companies would also play an active role in the efforts to rebuild war-torn Libya, adding that Ankara would provide support to the newly elected interim government.

On 27 November, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed two agreements with Head of the GNA Fayez Al-Sarraj.

The first memorandum concerns security and military cooperation, while the second is intended to define areas of maritime jurisdiction, with the aim of protecting the rights of the two countries in accordance with international law.

READ: Turkey is a ‘strategic partner’ of the new Libyan authority