By RFPosted on 11-12-2019Modified on 11-12-2019 at 02:07
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday (December 10th) that his country is ready to send troops to Libya. Ankara could thus strengthen its military support to the Libyan Government of National Unity of Fayez el-Sarraj, availing itself of a recent agreement recently signed between the two parties.
With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
This is the second time in two days that Recep Tayyip Erdogan evokes this hypothesis which seems, therefore, more and more probable. The Turkish president has said he is ready to send military personnel to Libya, if Libya " makes such a request ".
Libya refers to Fayez al-Sarraj's Government of National Unity, the only one Turkey recognizes and supports against its rival in eastern Libya, Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
To justify his proposal, Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims a " military and security cooperation " agreement signed in late November during a visit to Istanbul Fayez al-Sarraj.
The Turkish president also points out that Khalifa Haftar's forces have " the support of a Russian security company " even though Moscow denies the presence of Russian mercenaries on Libyan soil.
In recent months, without officially recognizing it, the Turkish authorities have increased the number of arms deliveries to Libyan national unity government forces, including tanks and armed drones. In October, a confidential report by UN experts accused Turkey of violating the arms embargo imposed since 2011 on Libya.
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