Türkiye, Libya sign defense deals

TRIPOLI

Libya’s Tripoli-based prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah signed two deals with Türkiye’s defense minister on Oct. 25, building on a 2019 agreement.

Dbeibah’s administration posted a statement saying the deals included "implementation protocols for the security agreement" signed that year by authorities in Tripoli, who at the time were fending off a blistering assault by eastern-based military chief Khalifa Haftar.

Tuesday’s statement did not give further details.

The 2019 deal had seen Türkiye claim large and potentially gas-rich areas of the eastern Mediterranean, angering Greece, France and the European Union.

Shortly afterwards, the delivery of Turkish drones to Tripoli-based forces changed the course of the battle, winning them a victory over Haftar’s forces who were backed by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Another deal signed by Dbeibah on Tuesday aims to "boost the capacity of Libya’s air force using Turkish expertise", read the statement, accompanied by pictures of him with Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar.

Dbeibah was in Türkiye to visit a defense exhibition.

The latest deals come three weeks after Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşğglu signed a deal in Tripoli allowing for oil and gas exploration in Libya’s Mediterranean waters.

That was also built on the 2019 deal, which demarcated the countries’ shared maritime borders but sparked anger in Greece and Cyprus.