Officials from Turkey, Libya's Tripoli government meet ahead of UN-led conference

Photo: AA

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Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and Khalid Al-Mishri, the chair of the Libyan High Council of State, discussed strengthening relations yesterday (October 20), according to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).

Al-Mishri and Önal met in the Libya's Tripoli, according to a statement by the press office of the High Council of State.

Discussing ways to strengthen and support relations at all levels, they spoke about the latest developments regarding elections in Libya scheduled for December, emphasizing the importance of holding them on time, according to the statement.

They also touched on the Libyan Stability Initiative conference which is scheduled to be held today in Tripoli with international participation, including Turkey. The conference will be held at the ministerial level.

According to the UN's roadmap for a solution in Libya, presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held simultaneously on December 24.

Turkey's involvement in the Libya conflict

Since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: One in eastern Libya, the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar, and the other in Tripoli, the Government of National Accord (GNA).

The government and western parts of the country have been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with over 1,000 killed.

On November 27, 2019, Ankara and Tripoli reached two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU), one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Following the military cooperation deal, Turkey sent military advisors, fighters outside of its army and armed drones to Libya to help GNA, which is widely believed to have saved them from a decisive defeat against Haftar's forces.

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(PT/VK)