Turkey, main obstacle to peace in Libya, says France
Paris, France (PANA) - The French government Wednesday accused Turkey of being the main obstacle to peace and stability in Libya.
An official statement issued here Wednesday blamed Turkey for violating the UN arms embargo in Libya with its support to the offensive by the Tripoli government against the forces of Marshall Khalifa Haftar.
“The main obstacle to the establishment of peace and stability in Libya today lies in the systematic violations of the UN arms embargo, particularly from Turkey, despite the commitments made in Berlin early this year,” Agnès von der Mühll, communication and press director of the French foreign affairs ministry, said at a news briefing.
The spokesperson for the French foreign affairs ministry added that France did not choose a camp or another in Libya and always reaffirmed there would be no military solution in the conflict.
She said France had over the past few weeks worked for the relaunch of negotiations to achieve a quick conclusion of ceasefire under the United-Nations and within the framework set in Berlin.
In the conflict that broke out in Libya between troops of the government of national accord (GNA) chaired by Fayez al-Sarraj and recognized by the international community, and the Libyan national army (LNA) commanded by Marshall Khalifa Haftar, Turkey backed the GNA against LNA which was also backed by Russia, Egypt and the United-Arab Emirates.
Over the past few days, France has accused Turkey of supplying weapons to the GNA in violation of the UN arms embargo.
On Sunday, the French presidency denounced what it called the ’unacceptable’ interventionism from Turkey.
“The support taken by Turkey to carry on the offensive of the government of national unity will directly sap the efforts aiming to obtain immediate truce which we are taking part. That support is doubled with hostile and inacceptable behaviors of Turkey’s maritime forces to the NATO allies, aiming to compromise the efforts for the application of the UN arms embargo. Those behaviours like all foreign interferences in the Libyan conflict must stop,” said the communication and press director of the French foreign affairs ministry.
The situation in Libya gradually deteriorated with the death of Colonel Gaddafi in October 2011 and doubled in intensity since April 4 with fierce fighting near Tripoli between troops loyal to GNA and the Libyan national army that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced 128,000 persons.
The two protagonists are backed by allies who do not respect the arms embargo in Libya imposed by the resolutions of the UN Security Council, which contributed to an escalation of hostilities on the ground.
-0- PANA BM/BEH/MSA/RA 18Jun2020
