Turkey will work with US on Libya, says foreign minister

WASHINGTON

Turkish foreign and defense ministries and intelligence will soon work with US counterparts on Libya, Turkey’s top diplomat said on Thursday.

Speaking at a webinar with the US-based Turkish American National Steering Committee, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his US counterpart Donald Trump to work together in Libya and Trump took it positively.

"We received instructions to work together," with US counterparts, which "is important for the stability of the region and future of Libya," said the minister.

"We would like to further expand our cooperation areas," he added.

His remarks came a day after Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj welcomed Cavusoglu, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, and National Intelligence Organization head Hakan Fidan in Tripoli.

Last November, Turkey and Libya signed landmark pacts on military cooperation as well as boundaries in the Mediterranean.

Under the deal, Turkey has sent advisors to help the Libyan Army defeat the militias of warlord Khalifa Haftar.

The Libyan Army recently inflicted heavy blows on Haftar and liberated Tripoli and Tarhuna, in addition to other strategic locations, including Al-Watiya airbase, from his militias.

The internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.