On Monday, speaking at a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron, who was accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that Tukey bore “criminal responsibility” for its role in the conflict in Libya. He further said, “I consider that today Turkey doesn’t respect any of the commitments made at the Berlin conference, increased its military presence in Libya since then and massively reimported jihadist fighters from Syria.”
Last week, Macron, who was talking alongside Kais Saied, Tunisia’s President, warned Turkey that its role in Turkey would not be “tolerated” by France. At the time, he said, “I have already had the opportunity to say very clearly to President Erdogan, I consider that Turkey is playing a dangerous game in Libya today and going against all of its commitments made at the Berlin conference.”
Turkey and France, both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), have been in conflict over their policies in Libya for months. The war of words was instigated by an incident on June 10, when Turkish frigates, which were accompanied by a cargo ship, refused to be inspected by French frigates, who were working under the command of NATO. This almost resulted in a violent clash between the two vessels. The incident occurred four days after Turkish President Erdogan announced the deployment of Turkish soldiers to Libya.
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Libya has been a hotbed of violence since the deposition and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 by NATO-backed forces. Currently, the country has two rival administrations vying for control—the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The LNA launched an offensive in April 2019. According to the United Nations, over 2000 fighters and 280 civilians have been killed since the beginning of Haftar’s blockade.
The UN-backed GNA has been supported by Turkey ever since Erdogan and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj struck a controversial deal in November 2019, in which they agreed to cooperate militarily and strategically in the Mediterranean. Turkey assisted the GNA to help secure Tripoli and the western regions of the country against the threat it faced by Haftar’s LNA.
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On the other hand, Haftar has the support of Turkey’s regional rivals, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, along with Russia and France. Previously, France provided Haftar’s army with military support against the growing influence of Islamist militants in the region. While France’s official stand has never been in favour of Haftar’s army, its hypocrisy on the situation is apparent. It has time and again defended other state actors who supported the LNA in Libya. For instance, speaking on Egyptian interference in the conflict, he said that Egypt had the right to intervene as they faced a genuine threat from the unrest in Libya. Further, Macron also conveniently steers away from any comment on Russian presence in Libya. He said, “Russia doesn’t claim to be intervening in Libya … Turkey claims it – it is its official boats, military, its policy.”
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Further, Macron said that for France, the issues in Libya are relevant since Turkey’s actions, which alleged increase the presence of Syrian fighters in Libya, had resulted in the influx of Libyan refugees into Europe.
Libyan Conflict Coverage:
- Russian Mercenaries Evacuate Libya, US Accuses Moscow of Sending Warplanes to Haftar
- Libya Calls for US and EU Blockade on Russian Mercenaries as They Enter Oil Fields
- Turkey Threatens Retaliation against Haftar’s Forces in Libya as Tensions Escalate
- Libyan Rivals Set to Sign a Ceasefire Agreement in Moscow
Image Source: WGN Radio