Turkey accuses France of helping increase Russian presence in Libya

BY Libyan Express Jun 30, 2020 - 20:59

Turkish Foreign Minister Mavlut Çavuşoğlu. [Photo: A.A.]

Turkey accused on Tuesday NATO ally France of trying to increase Russia’s role in Libya, despite the fact that the alliance sees Moscow as a threat.

“NATO sees Russia as a threat on the hand, but NATO ally France is trying to increase Russia’s presence in Libya on the other,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

“Even though we [Turkey] appear to be on opposite sides with Russia, we are working not to worsen the situation, but to achieve a cease-fire,” Cavusoglu added.

He added that France supported “a putschist, a pirate, Khalifa Khaftar” in opposition to UN Security Council decisions, referring to the renegade general based in eastern Libya.

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