MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that when parliament is back to work in January he will ask the legislators for permission to send military personnel to Libya. He was speaking in Ankara on the NTV television channel.
"As soon as parliament is back to work after recess, we will make a request for sending troops to Libya first thing. If we receive a corresponding invitation [from Libya for sending troops), we will accept it," he said, adding that Turkish troops would not go anywhere without a request from Tripoli.
"We will furnish any support for the authorities in Tripoli, which are fighting against a rebel general backed by some European and Arab countries. They help him, while we are on the side of Libya’s legitimate government," Erdogan said.
Also, he mentioned the memorandum of understanding Turkey and Libya signed in Tripoli on November 28 on the delimitation of maritime zones, which drew harsh criticism from Greece.
"This document has taken effect. Our aim is not taking away somebody’s rights in the Mediterranean, but preventing the usurpation of our rights. Some would like to restrict [our interests] to our coastline. The agreement is fully legitimate," he said.
In Libya, there are two parallel bodies of executive power - the internationally recognized Government of National Accord under Fayez Sarraj and the Provisional Cabinet led by Abdullah Al-Thani in the country’s east. The latter is supported by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army. Haftar on December 12 declared that his forces were beginning a decisive battle for the capital. The LNA command has repeatedly said it would oppose any foreign intervention in Libya’s internal affairs and warned it would sink ships and shot down planes carrying military aid from Turkey.