Turkish president says army personnel being sent to Libya are supporting and training UN-recognised government's forces.
Turkey's President Erdogan and German Chancellor Merkel call for a fragile truce in Libya to be converted into a lasting ceasefire, during a visit by the German leader to Istanbul.
Turkish military personnel being sent to Libya are supporting and training forces of the internationally recognised government of Fayez al-Sarraj, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
Speaking in Istanbul on Friday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Erdogan also said countries which attended a Libya summit in Berlin on Sunday should not favour al-Sarraj's opponent, Khalifa Haftar, after he left the meeting without signing a ceasefire deal.
Turkey will not leave Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj alone, and it is "determined to provide as much support as it can," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Speaking in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul, Erdogan said, "We are determined not to leave our Libyan brothers alone during these difficult days."
"Supporting Libya's Government of National Accord [GNA] is not an option, but an obligation pursuant to the UN Resolution 2259.
"Turkey and Germany are giving priority to the solution of problems through dialogue, urging the sides to have common sense and sanity,” he added.
Merkel said, "Fragile ceasefire in Libya must be turned into a permanent one."
"Articles agreed at Berlin summit on Libya will be approved by the UN Security Council," she added.
"I hope the Haftar side will take positive steps," Merkel said.
Erdogan said Haftar showed "no intention for reconciliation" and criticised his failure to sign the ceasefire document in Berlin on Sunday.
"Haftar has not signed it but only verbally accepted it," said Erdogan. "We do not see this as full acceptance."
Erdogan warned the conflict in Libya risked "chaos [that] will affect all the Mediterranean basin."
Erdogan and Merkel also inaugurated a new campus for the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, which opens at a time of warming relations between the two countries.
Merkel described it as "an extraordinary example of cooperation between Turkey and Germany."
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Turkey's President Erdogan and German Chancellor Merkel call for a fragile truce in Libya to be converted into a lasting ceasefire, during a visit by the German leader to Istanbul.
Turkish military personnel being sent to Libya are supporting and training forces of the internationally recognised government of Fayez al-Sarraj, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
Speaking in Istanbul on Friday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Erdogan also said countries which attended a Libya summit in Berlin on Sunday should not favour al-Sarraj's opponent, Khalifa Haftar, after he left the meeting without signing a ceasefire deal.
Turkey will not leave Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj alone, and it is "determined to provide as much support as it can," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Speaking in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul, Erdogan said, "We are determined not to leave our Libyan brothers alone during these difficult days."
"Supporting Libya's Government of National Accord [GNA] is not an option, but an obligation pursuant to the UN Resolution 2259.
"Turkey and Germany are giving priority to the solution of problems through dialogue, urging the sides to have common sense and sanity,” he added.
Merkel said, "Fragile ceasefire in Libya must be turned into a permanent one."
"Articles agreed at Berlin summit on Libya will be approved by the UN Security Council," she added.
"I hope the Haftar side will take positive steps," Merkel said.
Erdogan said Haftar showed "no intention for reconciliation" and criticised his failure to sign the ceasefire document in Berlin on Sunday.
"Haftar has not signed it but only verbally accepted it," said Erdogan. "We do not see this as full acceptance."
Erdogan warned the conflict in Libya risked "chaos [that] will affect all the Mediterranean basin."
Erdogan and Merkel also inaugurated a new campus for the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, which opens at a time of warming relations between the two countries.
Merkel described it as "an extraordinary example of cooperation between Turkey and Germany."
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(2) Source
