Ankara may defend the government in Tripoli against rebels.
Turkey may intervene in the situation in Libya, where the forces of the so-called national army of Khalifa Haftar are advancing in the capital of the state, in which the UN-recognized government of national consent, headed by Fayez Sarraj, is located. Such a scenario was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He clarified that we are talking about any military assistance that is necessary for the official leadership of Libya.
“We will protect the rights of Libya and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. We are more than ready to provide Libya with any assistance it needs”, – the Turkish leader assured.
At the same time, he called Khalif Haftar “an illegal leader, a representative of an illegal structure”. Now fights between government forces and rebels take place 10 km from Tripoli.
Erdogan also reportedly threatened to close a key US military base in his country if Washington imposed sanctions for Ankara buying Russian air defense systems. This is even despite the fact that the Incirlik airbase has been a strategic target for the US and NATO forces for decades, and Turkey is a member of the Alliance.