For Turkey, the main supporter of the Tripoli government, no cease-fire can be signed in Libya, between the government of Tripoli National Union (GNA) and Marshal Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), that the latter's forces will not have left the city of Sirte.

"A ceasefire must be viable, which means that the other party, Haftar's LNA must no longer be in a position to launch a new attack on the legitimate government, when it wants to" , Ibrahim Kalin, the presidential spokesman for Turkey, told AFP on Saturday (June 20). 

"At this point, the GNA believes, and we support it in this, that all parties must return to their positions of 2015, when the Libyan political agreement of Skhirat (in Morocco) was signed, which means that the Haftar's forces must withdraw from Sirte and Al-Joufra ", further south, he added.

Russian-Turkish negotiations

The forces of the GNA, after resuming control of the entire northwest of the country at the beginning of June with the support of Turkey, remain hampered in their advance towards Sirte, strategic lock towards the East and the most important installations oil companies in the country.

Birthplace of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte, located 450 km east of Tripoli, was later a bastion of the Islamic State (IS) organization, before being taken over in 2016 by the GNA . It fell last January into the hands of Marshal Haftar's camp.

Turkey supports the GNA of Fayez al-Sarraj, recognized by the United Nations, against the dissident forces of Marshal Haftar, supported in particular by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Ankara and Moscow are currently in talks to try to reach a ceasefire in Libya, despite the cancellation in mid-June due to apparent differences from a visit to Istanbul by two Russian ministers.

"The French government supports an illegitimate warlord"

The Turkish presidential spokesman also attacked France violently, accused of supporting Marshal Haftar but who vehemently criticizes Turkey's intervention alongside the GNA.

"In Libya we support the legitimate government and the French government supports an illegitimate warlord and thus endangers NATO security, security in the Mediterranean, security in North Africa and stability in Libya", a- he says.

"Despite all this, they (French officials) continue to criticize us. But we are working with legitimate actors and it is France that works with bad actors and illegitimate elements, while pointing fingers at us. makes no sense ", he added.

With AFP

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