Govt’ to convene parliament assembly for Libya motion

ANKARA

The Turkish government plans to bring a motion on troops deployment to Libya to the parliament speaker’s office on Dec. 30.

Parliament, which is on currently on recess, would have to be called for an emergency meeting to discuss the motion at the General Assembly.

The government earlier planned to bring the motion to the general assembly after the recess, which would end on Jan. 7, but the plan has changed.

The draft motion would include reasons behind sending troops to Libya, in addition to the details about which units will be sent. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) noticed its lawmakers that the motion could be discussed in parliament on Jan. 2.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will visit opposition party leaders this week in order to brief them about why the government wants to send troops to Libya.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) declared that they will object to the motion in parliament, while Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has already lent support to the government’s move.

The bill will allow the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. On Dec. 21, parliament ratified a motion on the approval of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on security and military cooperation with Libya.

It then kicked off its two-week-long recess on Dec. 21. The parliament is scheduled to re-open on Jan. 7.

The MoU on defense and security was signed on Nov. 27 between the senior government officials from two countries along with another deal on the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.

The agreement pledges a legal basis for substantial cooperation in the field of defense and security including establishing defense offices in each other’s countries, training, the allocation of air, ground and naval vehicles, holding joint exercises and intelligence.

The move has come as the Tobruk-based General Khalifa Haftar forces have intensified attacks against the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli under the leadership of Prime Minister Mustafa Fayez al-Sarraj.

Following the military cooperation deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara may consider sending troops to Libya if the U.N.-recognized Tripoli government made such a request.