Erdogan’s attempt to involve Tunisia in Libya intervention failed: Politician

BY

-

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 - 12:32 GMT

BY

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 - 12:32 GMT

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Tunisia's President Kais Saied in Tunis, Tunisia December 25, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Tunisia's President Kais Saied in Tunis, Tunisia December 25, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

CAIRO – 27 December 2019: Fethi Belhaj, an official at the Tunisian People’s Movement, said the Turkish president sought, through his recent visit to Tunisia, to end the state of isolation for Ankara amid global rejection of his agreement with Fayez al-Sarraj’s government in Libya.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also aimed at involving Tunisia in the intervention in the Libyan affairs, in accordance with the widely rejected security agreement signed earlier between Turkey and the so-called Government of National Accord, Belhaj said, in an interview with Saudi Al-Arabiya.

Erdogan’s claims, after concluding his visit to Tunisia where he met with President Kais Saied, concerning Tunisia’s acceptance to support Turkey’s military interference in Libya were refuted by the Tunisian Presidency immediately, Belhaj said.

The Tunisian people earlier rejected the Turkish interference in Syria and will be, therefore, against any attempts to intervene in the Libyan domestic affairs, he asserted.

Sarraj’s government on Thursday requested Turkish military intervention providing air, ground, and sea support to its militias in Tripoli against the reported attempts of the Libyan National Army (LNA) to capture the capital and liberate it from militias.

Erdogan stated that troops will be sent to Libya upon the request of the temporary government in Tripoli and that the parliament is expected to pass the decree on January 8.

The agreement between Turkey and Sarraj’s government has been rejected by many European and Arab countries, including Egypt, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus, as well as the Libyan parliament and national army.

Stance toward Libya

Egypt has earlier condemned the signing of the two memoranda of understanding on security and maritime jurisdictions between Ankara and the so-called Government of National Accord led by Sarraj, which the Libyan parliament no more recognizes.

“Egypt affirms that such memoranda possess no legal effect, as they cannot be recognized in light of the fact that Article 8 of the Skhirat Political Agreement on Libya widely accepted by Libyans defines the competences conferred to the Council of Ministers, expressly stipulating that the Council of Ministers as an entity – and not the president of the council alone – has the power to conclude international agreements,” the foreign ministry said in a separate statement.

“It is well-known that the Council of Ministers’ membership is clearly incomplete, and that it currently suffers from a serious imbalance in the representation of the Libyan areas. Accordingly, the restricted role of the prime minister is limited to managing the council’s affairs. All attempts to build legal arrangements with any other country comprise a serious breach of the Skhirat Agreement.

The MoUs have no implications on the rights of the riparian states of the Mediterranean Sea, and do not affect the maritime boundary delimitation system in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” the ministry continued.

Egypt called upon the international community to face this "negative approach," which coincides with Germany’s efforts to reach a comprehensive peaceful solution for the conflicting parties of Libya.

Comments

0

Leave a Comment

Be Social