Saudi Arabia condemns Turkey’s approval of troop deployment to Libya

Saudi Arabia censured on Sunday the Turkish parliament’s approval of deploying troops in Libya, saying that it was a violation of U.N. Security Council decision, Sözcü reported, citing the Saudi foreign ministry.

“The kingdom affirms that this Turkish escalation poses a threat to the security and stability in Libya and a threat to Arab and regional security, as it is an interference in the internal affairs of an Arab country in flagrant violation of international principles and covenants,” Sözcü quoted the foreign ministry statement as saying.

Turkey signed two memoranda of understanding with Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord on Nov. 27, one for military cooperation which allows Turkey to deploy troops in the war-torn country, the other for the delineation of the maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

And, the Turkish parliament on Thursday approved sending troops to support the internationally-recognised Libyan government. The bill allows Turkey to deploy troops to Libya at any time in the next year.

Libya is split between the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, and the Tobruk government, led by General Khalifa Haftar, the de facto ruler of eastern Libya and head of the Libyan National Army (LNA). Haftar in April launched a military assault to seize the Libyan capital.

Turkey has been supporting Serraj while the United Arab Emirates and Jordan are backers of Haftar.

Source: Ahval