Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for supporting forces based in eastern Libya, after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with men. from the Libyan tribe that urged Cairo to intervene in the war.
Turkey has been providing military aid to the United Nations-recognized government in the Libya conflict, while Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia have backed their enemies in a rival administration based in the east.
The past few weeks have seen dramatic military advances by the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA), which pushed back the forces of renegade eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar who had launched an assault on Tripoli last year.
Eastern-based lawmakers this week called on Egypt to intervene in the conflict. El-Sisi met with members of the Libyan tribe on Thursday and said Egypt will not remain idle in the face of a direct threat to the security of Egypt and Libya.
When asked about the possibility of Egyptian intervention, Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey would maintain its support for the GNA.
“The steps taken by Egypt here, especially its support for the coup leader Haftar, show that they are in an illegal process,” he said. He also described the UAE’s approach as “pirate”.
El-Sisi said last month that the Egyptian army could enter Libya if the Tripoli government and its Turkish allies renewed an assault on the Sirte-Jufrah central line, seen as the gateway to the main export terminals of Libyan oil, now in the hands of Haftar’s allies.
Libya has been mired in conflict since 2011, when ruler Muammar Gaddafi was removed in a NATO-backed operation.
Arms embargo
Meanwhile, France’s foreign ministry on Friday rejected claims by the United States that an EU naval mission to enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya was partial and not serious, saying Washington should do more. to stop the flow of weapons to the North African country.
David Schenker, deputy secretary for Near East Affairs at the US State Department, said Thursday that Europe should go beyond limiting arms supply interceptions to Turkey by appointing Russian military contractor Wagner Group and calling Moscow and other countries like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. the question.
In response to Schenker’s comments, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters: “We call on all our partners, beginning with the United States, to step up their action, as the European Union, to prevent recurring violations of the arms embargo and to help relaunch an inclusive political process. “
Turkey has decisively intervened in recent weeks in Libya, providing air support, weapons and allied fighters from Syria to help the GNA repel a year-long assault by Haftar.
Turkey accuses France of politically supporting Haftar, having previously provided him with military assistance to fight armed groups.
France denies this, but relations between the two NATO allies have been fraying with Paris repeatedly pointing the finger at Ankara for her role in Libya, without publicly criticizing Egypt or the UAE for their role.
“France is actively participating in this important operation in the context of increased foreign interference in the Libyan conflict, which we have condemned in the strongest terms,” said Von der Muhll.
The UN has previously cited the UAE, Egypt and Turkey for violating the embargo.
Germany also emphasized on Friday the need to maintain the Libyan arms embargo in the wake of el-Sisi’s latest declaration.
In a regular briefing in Berlin, Christofer Burger, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, made it clear that the Libyan arms embargo “applied to all parties.”
The German diplomat called for an “immediate end” of foreign military support to the warring parties.
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