Ankara rejects Egypt's accusations over Libya

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokes person on June 6 rejected allegations Egypt leveled against Ankara regarding Libya.

Hami Aksoy said: "We reject the unfounded accusations of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry against Turkey within the context of Libya in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL Small Group on June 4, 2020.

"In fact, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Sedat Önal gave the necessary response to the Egyptian foreign minister during the meeting."

Aksoy said warlord Khalifa Haftar and his allies including the Egyptian administration are the real obstacles to peace in Libya, with their attempts to overthrow the legitimate government and establishing an authoritarian regime.

"It is not surprising that those who have taken over their administration by a coup support a putschist.

"Egypt’s years-long military support to putschist Haftar constitutes a clear violation of the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions," Aksoy added.

Turkey, on the other hand, is the only country which has neutralized thousands of Daesh/ISIS terrorists in Syria, he said.

He concluded that Turkey will continue backing the legitimate government in Libya and pursue relevant U.N. resolutions.

Libya's internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

The government launched Operation Peace Storm in March to counter attacks on the capital Tripoli and recently regained strategic locations, including the Al-Watiya airbase and Tarhuna, which is viewed as a significant blow to Haftar's forces.

Libya's government was founded in 2015 under a U.N.-led agreement, after years of civil war following the ouster of late leader Mummer Gaddafi.