Turkey has responded violently to criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron for its role in Libya, and blamed him for the war crimes committed by the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, and accused Egypt, which threatens to intervene militarily in Libya, of subordination to Paris and Abu Dhabi.
While Libyan-Italian discussions discussed external interference and the return to the political track, Tripoli reaffirmed its rejection of the Egyptian initiative.
In statements made on Wednesday in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoغلlu said that French President Emmanuel Macron was behind the war crimes perpetrators and crimes against humanity in Libya, calling for holding those responsible for those crimes accountable.
In response to Macron's statements in which he described Turkey's support for the Libyan National Accord government as a dangerous game, Gawishoglu expressed his deep concern over the French presence in Libya.
He said that France is contradicting itself on Libya through its support for what he described as the coup Haftar on the one hand, and the support of the United Nations Security Council to which it is a member of the Al-Wefaq government, on the other hand.
He also described France's policy towards Libya with hypocrisy and deception, and stressed that everyone sees the seriousness of the French game in Libya, pointing out that the formerly hesitant countries standing with the legitimate government in Libya, and the increasing support for this government, what provoked France and the UAE.
Jawishoglu's harsh criticism of Paris comes in light of French-Turkish tension over recent developments in Libya, and also in the eastern Mediterranean, after France accused the Turkish navy of harassing one of its ships, which Ankara denied.
In the midst of this tension, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the European Union on Wednesday to quickly open an in-depth discussion on the prospects for the future relationship between the European Union and Ankara, and urged the countries of the Union to firmly defend their interests.
The French minister condemned the strengthening of the weight of Turkey in Libya, criticizing the agreement concluded between Ankara and the Al-Wefaq government on gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ludryan had earlier demanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which France and Turkey enjoy membership, after what Paris said was Turkish harassment of its ship in the eastern Mediterranean.
Foreign instructions
With regard to the recent threat of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to intervene militarily in Libya, and to warn him that the city of Sirte (450 km east of Tripoli) and the base of Al-Jafra that the Al-Wefaq government forces are seeking to control are a "red line", the Turkish Foreign Minister said that this was due either Sisi as a tool, or that he wants to access oil wells in Libya.
He also said that Cairo behaves in relation to Libya according to the directives of France and the Emirates.
For his part, Turkish Vice President Fuad Aktay said that his country is currently lining history in Libya after it tore up the maps and plans that were intended to exclude them from the eastern Mediterranean, as he put it.
Aktai confirmed that the Libyan National Accord government, with its firm stand and with the support of Ankara, managed to thwart the conspiracies that were being hatched against Libya.
It is noteworthy that the government-backed forces of Al-Wefaq recently expelled Haftar forces from all of the Libyan west, and began crawling east towards the strongholds of the retired brigade supported by the UAE, Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The political track and
amid continued diplomatic mobility, the President of the Presidential Council of the Libyan National Accord Government, Fayez al-Sarraj, and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi de Mayo Wednesday stressed the importance of returning to the political track and rejecting negative external interventions in the Libyan crisis.
During the meeting between the two men in Tripoli, the two men discussed matters related to the European "IRINI" process to monitor the arms embargo to Libya, and Al-Sarraj reiterated that the process should be a comprehensive integrated by land, air and sea.
In a press statement upon his return to Rome after his visit to Tripoli, the Italian Foreign Minister said that he had spoken with Al-Sarraj regarding the resumption of negotiations for a political solution based on the references of the United Nations and the decisions of the Berlin Conference.
De Mayo added that he asked the Turkish foreign minister during their meeting in Ankara on Wednesday to support the reconciliation government to return to negotiations, stressing that there is an opportunity to restore the political track.
The Egyptian Initiative
For his part, Khaled Al-Mashri, head of the Supreme Council of State in Libya, said that the Egyptian initiative on the crisis in his country includes fallacies that cannot be accepted, and that it did not mention the political agreement in any way.
Al-Mashri said that the Cairo initiative includes major fallacies, does not recognize the political agreement, complicates the Libyan scene and does not help in the solution.
The initiative, which Sisi recently announced, was supported by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but Western countries stressed the need for an international reference for any possible political settlement in Libya.
In New York, Libya's delegate to the United Nations, Taher Al-Sunni, called for national initiatives and an internal political movement to tackle the Libyan crisis, away from external initiatives that carry agendas and interests of those he presents, in reference to the Egyptian initiative.
For his part, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament in Tobruk Aqila Saleh announced his support for a possible Egyptian military intervention in Libya, and said in an interview with the Middle East News Agency that if the city of Sirte was penetrated by the reconciliation forces, then the Egyptian army would be asked to intervene based on the authorization of the Libyan people As he put it.