Reference News Network reported on October 4According to the Associated Press Benghazi reported that the Libyan government of national unity and Turkey signed a preliminary economic and maritime agreement on the 3rd local time. The move has heightened tensions between one government and another in the country.
The agreements have also angered Turkey’s neighbor and regional rival Greece, which has denounced them as “illegal”.
The Turkish foreign minister signed the agreements with the Libyan Government of National Accord, the report said. The agreements mark a strengthening of relations between the two countries at a time when the international community has repeatedly called for elections to resolve Libya’s political differences.
File photo: A square in the center of Tripoli, the capital of Libya. (Published by Xinhua News Agency)
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Tripoli, paving the way for further bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbon and oil sectors. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed at a news conference after the signing that the two sides are also expected to sign a gas deal.
Libya has been mired in chaos since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Over the years, two major forces in Libya have faced off against each other – the National Unity Government and the armed forces supporting it control the capital Tripoli and other western areas; the National Congress and the “National Army” allied to control the eastern and central areas, major southern cities and some western cities. Deadly armed conflicts have increased over the past few months.
According to reports, Turkey has been supporting the Libyan government of national unity. In 2019, Turkey also signed a controversial maritime border agreement with the Libyan Government of National Accord, allowing it to enter a disputed economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean. The agreement ignores the presence of several Greek islands, including Crete, which lies between Turkey and Libya. The deal rekindled pre-existing tensions between Turkey and Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil and gas rights. (Compile / Yin Xia)Return to Sohu, see more
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