Macron supports a ‘putschist’ in Libya: Turkish FM

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on June 30 slammed French President Emmanuel Macron for supporting the “putschist” General Khalifa Haftar in Libya.

“Macron has not told the truth, neither has he acted honestly,” Çavuşoğlu said at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

Having this position to support Haftar, France acts against decisions of the United Nations, which supports the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, the minister said.

“The presence of France causes risk” for Libya, he said accusing the French administration of being “destructive” in the north African country.

Çavuşoğlu also criticized the NATO member country for its policies regarding Libya. “NATO sees Russia as a threat, but NATO ally France strives to increase Russia’s presence in Libya,” Çavuşoğlu added, emphasizing Turkey seeks joint work with Russia in Libya in order to maintain peace and stability in the conflict-hit country.

Haftar, the leader of illegal armed forces in eastern Libya, intensified attacks on civilians since the beginning of May as the Libyan army recently gained the advantage and inflicted severe losses on his militants.