Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar is the only obstacle to a peace deal for the North African country, defending Ankara’s cooperation with Moscow to end conflicts in Libya and Syria.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Cavusoglu expressed Turkey’s willingness to work with everyone in Libya, noting that Russia is now a key player there.
Turkey backs Government of National Accord (GNA) chief Fayez al-Sarraj while Russia supports Haftar, and cooperation is needed to reach a permanent truce, he noted.
“With Russia, we exerted some efforts and there has been a ceasefire — unfortunately we could not manage this with our EU partners,” he added.
Cavusoglu reaffirmed that Haftar was the only problem, saying a peace conference in Berlin this month agreed on a new push for peace but Haftar did not sign the ceasefire deal when both parties were in Moscow.
“In Berlin, all parties agreed to a sustainable truce and ceasefire, even Sarraj did. However, Haftar did not make an announcement, and he did not sign the joint statement in Moscow.”
Regarding Turkish military presence in Libya, the Turkish official said Turkey only deployed military advisers and trainers: “Our personnel is there for training GNA forces, nothing else. We do not have a strong military presence in Libya."
Despite Turkish officials’ statements on not dispatching forces to Libya, reports affirm that Turkey has so far sent 2,500 fighters to support militias in their battle against the LNA, not to mention the weaponry and military equipment.
