Trump speaks with Turkey’s Erdogan on Libya situation
Washington: US President Donald Trump spoke over phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Libya and other regional issues, said the White House.
Trump told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday that “foreign interference is complicating the situation” in the war-torn country, according to a statement released by the White House, Xinhua news agency reported.
The two leaders agreed on the need for de-escalation in Idlib, Syria, in order to protect civilians, the statement added.
Turkish Parliament on Thursday approved a motion authorizing a one-year deployment of its troops in Libya, despite the warning from some opposition parties that it will endanger Turkish soldiers’ lives and add fuel to the proxy war in the North African nation.
Libya has been locked in a civil war that escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk which is allied with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.
Turkey, along with its ally Qatar, backs the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj, while their rivals, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, support the LNA.