Turkey denied French accusations of acting in a "hostile" manner towards its NATO partners to prevent them from implementing the arms embargo in Libya, describing this as just allegations, and in the capital Tripoli, a high Turkish delegation discussed developments in Libya and international efforts to solve the crisis there.
A high-ranking Turkish military official told Reuters that the claim that the Turkish navy had molested a French warship on a NATO mission was "totally untrue", stressing that the Turkish navy had fueled the French warship before the alleged incident.
He clarified that the French warship did not have any contacts with the Turkish ship during the incident, and announced that Turkey today fulfills its obligations as an ally as it has always been, adding that they feel sad that the matter has reached this stage.
The French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Agnes von der Maul, said in a strongly worded statement that violations of the embargo - particularly from Turkey - are the main obstacle to achieving peace and stability in Libya.
An official at the French Defense Ministry said that NATO could not bury his head and ignore the existence of a problem regarding Turkey, especially in Libya and toward the Kurds, considering that the alliance has already gone through complicated situations, and there are ways to overcome it.
He said that there are seven Turkish naval vessels off the Libyan coast, and a French naval vessel had previously attempted to approach cargo ships arriving from Turkey, but that Turkish ships prevented them from approaching.
French screaming
Observers described the French statements as merely screaming and regretting French decisions taken in previous years in support of the retired Libyan brigade, Khalifa Hifter, especially after the recent field progress of the internationally recognized Al-Wefaq government forces.
Sami al-Atrash, a professor of international law at Libyan universities, said that this cry by the State of France has no real value, but rather for local consumption, whether on the French or European scene, or also on the Libyan scene from their allies in the Libyan East.
The extension of the influence of the state Libya
on the other hand, the President of the Council said the Supreme State in Libya Khaled Mashri after a meeting of the Council with the Foreign and Finance Ministers of the Turkish born Jawish Ihsanoglu, and Berat Albayrak in Tripoli that Ankara will help to extend the influence of the state on the whole of Libya.
The two parties touched on the Turkish-Russian talks on Libya, where the Supreme Council affirmed what it described as its constants, which reject any role of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter in the Libyan political scene at any future stage.
There is no role for Haftar at any stage
. Al-Mashri added that negotiations between the Russians and the Turks regarding the Libyan file are based on the principles recognized by the Supreme Council of State and the Government of Conciliation, and that the debate is still ongoing and the door has not been closed, so the conversation now before the end of this debate may affect the debate Among them, but the Libyan side explained its constants, namely that it will not be in any way at any stage any role for Khalifa Haftar.
The President of the Presidential Council of the National Accord Government in Libya, Fayez al-Sarraj, also discussed with the Turkish government delegation - which includes, in addition to Gawishoglu, Berat al-Bairaq, head of the intelligence service, Hakan Fidan, the latest developments in Libya and international efforts to resolve the crisis there.
Implementation of security and military understanding
The media office of the Presidential Council announced that the two sides discussed following up on the implementation of the security and military memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries last November, cooperation in building Libyan defense and security capabilities, and the developments of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the determination of maritime powers.
The two parties also discussed the issue of the return of Turkish companies to complete their work in Libya, and the mechanisms of cooperation and integration in the fields of investment, infrastructure and oil.
It is mentioned that this is the first time that a high Turkish delegation has visited Libya since the signing of the agreement between the two countries.
A high-level
delegation included the delegation, in addition to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance and the head of the intelligence service, the official spokesman for the Turkish presidency, Ibrahim Qalan, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Albar Slan Bayrakdar, the Director General of the Agricultural Bank Hussein Aidan, and Amrah Shaner, Vice President of the Central Bank, and the Director General for Middle East and Africa At the Foreign Ministry, Yunus Demiral, in addition to a large number of advisers and officials in the presidency and the Turkish government.
This visit comes immediately after Al-Wefaq forces, with Turkish support, were able to force Haftar's forces to withdraw completely from the country's western region.
Reconstruction
A source in the Turkish presidency said to Al-Jazeera Net that the reason for this visit with this high and large delegation is due to the arrangement for the reconstruction of the areas liberated by the forces of the reconciliation government after the battles they fought with Haftar forces in the Libyan West, based on cooperation agreements signed by the Turkish and Libyan governments.
This surprise visit also comes in light of the Turkish-Russian dispute over the Libyan file, which led to the postponement of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Ankara.
It also comes in light of the Libyan government of Al-Wefaq forces on the outskirts of the strategic city of Sirte in preparation for its storming, as well as a sudden postponement of the visit of the Italian foreign minister to Ankara, and the strongly worded exchanges between France and Turkey.
A possible visit to Erdogan
The military superiority achieved by the Al-Wefaq forces was carried out with direct Turkish military support represented in cutting the supply lines of Haftar forces away from the capital Tripoli during the war on the city during the last period, and this support also forced Haftar's forces to withdraw from all their positions in southern Tripoli and the city Tarhuna, and allowed the government of reconciliation in full control of the western region of Libya.
A source in the Turkish presidency suggested that the delegation might arrange the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tripoli, especially as it comes a week after Al-Sarraj's visit to Istanbul and his meeting with Erdogan, noting that the delegation also includes Safar Turan, the president's chief adviser, and high-ranking security official Erul Ozan.