Turkish diplomat criticized European mission Irini to monitor arms embargo on Libya on Friday (June 19th) after NATO investigation into alleged incident by France and involving Turkish ships.

At a press conference in Ankara with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, the Turkish minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, considered that the Irini operation was "biased", and "did not take into account the demands and concerns of the GNA ", the Tripoli government supported by Ankara.

He criticized this mission for seeking to prevent deliveries of arms by sea destined for the GNA while ignoring those supplied to the strong man of the East, Khalifa Haftar by his allies by air and land.

>> Read: The fate of the Libyans in the hands of Moscow and Ankara

"Does she say anything about the (Russian) planes arriving in Libya from Syria? Is she interested in the weapons provided for Abu Dhabi? reports on arms supplies to Haftar by France? "asked the minister. "The Irini mission is not objective and does not contribute to a settlement of the Libyan problem or to the respect of the embargo," he added.

"We believe that this mission can contribute, even if it is not a panacea, but it can contribute to slowing down the entry (of arms) and to the respect of the United Nations embargo," said Luigi Di Maio.

Behavior deemed "extremely aggressive"

France this week denounced the "extremely aggressive" behavior of NATO member Turkey against a French frigate engaged in the Irini mission in the Mediterranean during an attempt to control a cargo ship suspected of transporting weapons to Libya. NATO announced Thursday the opening of an investigation into the incident.

Ankara's armed support to the GNA, including the deployment of military advisers and drones, has enabled it to reverse the balance of power and increase military success in recent weeks against the forces of Marshal Haftar.

>> Read: Syria, Libya, Iraq ... Turkey and its army on all fronts

As for Italy, it considers itself to be an important actor in the face of the situation in Libya because of its historical links with this country as a former colonial power.

Libya has been plagued by chaos since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. Since April 2019, the conflict has left hundreds of people dead, including many civilians, and pushed more than 200,000 people to flee their homes. 

With AFP

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