Turkish Ships To Start Drilling For Oil, Gas Offshore North Cyprus

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President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the European Union's decision to sanction Turkey over drilling off the coast of Cyprus could disrupt talks with the bloc, and he warned that Turkey could send captured Islamic State fighters to Europe.EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed economic sanctions on Ankara for violating Cyprus' maritime economic zone by drilling off the divided island.
Turkey, a formal candidate to join the EU despite worsening ties, criticised the decision and said it would not cease drilling in the eastern Mediterranean because it is operating on its own continental shelf or areas where Turkish Cypriots have rights.
Speaking in Ankara ahead of a visit to Washington, Erdogan slammed the EU's decision and said Turkey was acting in line with its rights based on international law.
"Hey EU, know this: Turkey is not one of those countries you have come to know until now. We are a country that sits at the negotiating table with you..." Erdogan told reporters. "These negotiations may suddenly end."
The EU relies on Ankara, which hosts more than 3.5 million refugees, to curb the arrival of migrants into Europe following a 2016 agreement to seal off the Aegean sea route. Erdogan has repeatedly warned that Turkey will allow refugees to travel to Europe unless it receives aid from European countries.
"You may take this lightly, but the these doors (to Europe) will open and these Daesh (Islamic State) members will be sent to you. Do not try to threaten Turkey over developments in Cyprus," Erdogan said on Monday.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/turkeys-erdog...101607269.html

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Several hundred Cypriots from both sides of the divided island marched on Friday to demand reunification as the Mediterranean country's two leaders prepared to meet for talks.President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are scheduled to meet in Berlin on Monday alongside United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
A German foreign ministry spokesman said Berlin was providing financial and logistical support for the "informal, trilateral" meeting but not playing a part in the talks.
In Nicosia, one of the protest organisers, Christos Tombazos, told AFP: "We're here to press our two leaders to look for a creative way to restart negotiations."
Some 80 organisations from both sides joined Friday's march, and said they were delivering a letter to the two leaders calling the Berlin meeting "a crucial opportunity to revive the peace process".
"Cyprus is too small to be divided, but big enough to welcome us all," they wrote.
In August, the leaders held an informal meeting in the buffer zone dividing the capital Nicosia, but failed to make any breakthrough in reviving talks.
Turkey has had troops stationed in the country since 1974 when it invaded and occupied its northern third after a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.
The Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus controls the southern two-thirds of the island, which joined the European Union in 2004.
Only Ankara recognises the breakaway self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Turkey still maintains between 30,000 and 40,000 troops in the north.
In 2003, crossing points opened along the UN-patrolled "Green Line" which had until then hermetically divided the island in two.
Several rounds of UN-brokered talks on reunification have taken place down the years between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, but they have always collapsed.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/cypriots-both...192616218.html

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Greece’s prime minister said Sunday he will ask other NATO members at the alliance’s London summit to support Greece in the face of fellow member Turkey’s attempts to encroach on Greek sovereignty, notably last week’s agreement with Libya delineating maritime borders in the Mediterranean.Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the ruling conservative New Democracy party’s congress Sunday that NATO can’t remain indifferent when one of its members “blatantly violates international law” and that a neutral approach is to the detriment of Greece, which has never sought to ratchet up tensions in the area.
Cyprus, Egypt and Greece have all condemned the Libyan-Turkish accord as contrary to international law. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Greece, Sameh Shoukry and Nikos Dendias, discussed the issue Sunday in Cairo.
Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement after the meeting that the two ministers agreed that the Turkey-Libya deal was “illegal” and that Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj doesn’t have the right to sign memorandums with other countries outside (the scope of) the U.N.-brokered deal that established his government.
“We agreed that that Mr. Sarraj most likely lacks the mandate to sign (two agreements with Turkey), which anyway function as destabilizing factors in the area,” Dendias said after the meeting. “We also agreed with (Shoukry) to accelerate talks between teams of experts to define and delineate Exclusive Economic Zones between Greece and Egypt,” Dendias added.
While Greece and Egypt are across from each other in the Mediterranean Sea, as are Greece and Turkey, Libya is geographically further from Turkey and the waters between the two countries are mostly those between Greece and Egypt.
The Turkey-Libya deal added tension to an ongoing dispute with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/greece-ask-na...135703398.html

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A Turkish diplomat has revealed a map which delineates waters in the Mediterranean claimed by Turkey, amid an ongoing months-long standoff with Cyprus and Greece over Turkish oil and gas exploration and drilling inside Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
"After signing deals with its own puppet state in occupied northern Cyprus and with the pseudo-government in Libya's Tripoli, Turkey declares that it owns half of the eastern Mediterranean," Aron Lund, an analyst at The Century Foundation, observes of the newly published map.

New map outlining Turkey's claimed continental shelf and the borders of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), via Hurriyet Daily. Meanwhile the entire eastern side of Cyprus is claimed by the internationally disputed "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

And Turkey's Hurriyet Daily explains: "With the chart, Çağatay Erciyes showed the outer boundaries of Turkey's continental shelf and EEZ, designated in a 2011 agreement between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the median line between Egypt and Turkey's mainlands and a recent memorandum with Libya."
Over the past year Turkey has sent both oil and gas exploration ships, as well as military transport vessels, into Cypriot waters in the East Mediterranean related to expanded claims based on the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus (since 1974), earning the condemnation of both Nicosia and top EU officials, who have defended EU-Cyprus' interpretation of the conflict.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...rranean-waters

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Greece’s prime minister will meet Turkey’s president on Wednesday in an attempt to ease frictions over energy exploration and Ankara’s deal with Libya on Mediterranean maritime zones, a government spokesman said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are to meet on the sidelines of a NATO alliance summit in London, Greek spokesman Stelios Petsas said.
“We hope that the meeting tomorrow will be a meeting where it will be possible to pave the way for a new form of respect for international law and for the two countries’ good neighborly relations,” he told reporters.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/greece-hopes-...130035498.html

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A Greek fighter jet allegedly obtained 'missile lock' on a Turkish frigate that was traveling off the coast of Cyprus on December 8, 2019, the Aviationist reported.

Citing photos from the Twitter profile of journalist Yannis Nikitas, the Aviationist reported that a Greek Mirage 2000 jet targeted the Turkish frigate with Exocet anti-ship missiles during a show of force over the weekend.

“In the photos we can see the HUD of a Mirage 2000, recognizable also by the characteristic Mirage refueling probe, as it gets a lock on a ship which, according to the caption, could be a Turkish frigate. On the left side of the HUD we can see a 'M39' label, showing that the pilot selected the AM-39 Exocet anti-ship to perform the lock on the ship,” the publication said.
Relations between Greece and Turkey have been rocky this year after Ankara began drilling for oil off the coast of Cyprus.


This move by Ankara prompted Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt to issue a joint statement condemning Turkey for violating international law.
They specifically pointed out that in the statement that Turkey was operating in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters.
Turkey continues to maintain that their activities are within the framework of international law, despite the joint statement from Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.
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More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ps-near-cyprus

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European Union leaders are set to reject a maritime border agreement between Turkey and Libya as invalid and insist that the pact interferes with the rights of other Mediterranean Sea countries, according to a draft summit statement.The border deal, endorsed by the Turkish parliament last week, has fueled regional tensions with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

The three countries, which lie between Turkey and Libya, have blasted the maritime border accord as being contrary to international law. Greece has expelled the Libyan ambassador over it.
In the statement, the leaders say the Turkey-Libya agreement “infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third states.”
The text, seen Thursday by The Associated Press and drawn up for a two-day EU summit underway in Brussels, was a draft so its exact wording could change.
The draft document continues that the EU “unequivocally reaffirms its solidarity with Greece and Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey.” Turkey has already angered the EU by drilling for gas in waters off the divided island nation of Cyprus.
Ankara upped the ante in that dispute on Wednesday by confirming that it would use its military forces if necessary to halt any exploratory gas drilling in waters off Cyprus that it claims as its own.
Neighbors Greece and Turkey are divided by a series of decades-old issues, including territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea. The NATO allies have come to the brink of war three times since the 1970s, including once over drilling rights in the Aegean.
Greece insists the deal with Libya — which has no fully functioning government able to rule across all of its territory — is unenforceable and has stressed that it will protect its sovereign rights. Like its EU partners, Greece recognizes the United Nations-endorsed Libyan government based in Tripoli in the west of the country.
Arriving for the summit in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would seek from his European counterparts, “and I am sure I will receive, their active support in the face of Turkish provocation.”

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/eu-le...144229045.html

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Turkey on Thursday sent its accord with Libya on a maritime boundary between the two countries to the United Nations for approval, a Turkish diplomatic source said, despite objections from Greece that the agreement violates international law.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-se...101141591.html

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The head of Libya's eastern-based parliament on Thursday said he disagreed with an accord between Libya and Turkey establishing maritime boundaries which has infuriated Athens.Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador last week over the Nov. 27 accord establishing a sea corridor between Libya and Turkey and in areas where Greece considers it has maritime rights.
"We are here to stress that this specific agreement is rejected, it is invalid," said Aguila Saleh Issa, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives.
"Those that signed it do not have any legal authority to do so, since the government itself was rejected. It did failed a confidence vote twice and has not been legally sworn in at the House of Representatives," Issa told reporters in Athens through an interpreter.
Issa is aligned to General Khalifa Haftar who controls the east of the country which opposes the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/head-liby...173002589.html

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The breakaway Turkish Cypriot cabinet has designated an airport on the disputed island as a base for Turkish drones escorting ships seeking hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean, a news agency said, a move likely to increase tension with the European Union.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), both unarmed and armed, will start to take off from Gecitkale Airport as of Dec. 16, the privately-held Demiroren news agency reported.
Efforts to base them had taken some time, it said, adding that a team of experts from Ankara considered the airport, also known as Lefkoniko, a suitable option.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/turkish-drone...210549980.html

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Turkey has sent a military drone to the breakaway Turkish part of Cyprus to protect Turkish drill ships which explore for oil and gas offshore the island, in another escalation of the tension between Turkey and Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The military drone landed in the Turkish Cypriot part of the island on Monday, after the Northern Cypriot government—which is recognized only by Turkey—agreed to Turkey using the Gecitkale airport for drones, Anadolu Agency reported.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...n-Dispute.html

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The US Congress voted Tuesday to lift a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus, defying Turkey by seeking warmer ties at a time of renewed tensions.The Senate approved the measure as part of a massive defense spending bill that passed 86 to eight and already went through the House of Representatives, with President Donald Trump likely to sign it.
The United States imposed an embargo on the full island in 1987 with an aim to prevent an arms race and encourage a peaceful settlement between the Greek majority and Turkish minority.
Critics say the step has been counterproductive by forcing Cyprus to seek other partners while Turkey, a NATO member, has stationed forces in northern Cyprus since its invasion in 1974.
Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator Marco Rubio spearheaded the effort, saying they also wanted to encourage growing cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Israel.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/us-congress-e...204559685.html

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Greek air force pilots scrambled to intercept Turkish fighter planes that illegally entered Greece’s airspace 40 times in a single day this week as tensions soar between the NATO allies over a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean.
Fighter jets from the two countries on Tuesday engaged in 16 mock dogfights following multiple Turkish incursions into Greek airspace, defense officials in Athens told Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper.

More at: https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/...llies-1.611611

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https://twitter.com/alertchannel/sta...07412643991553

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Turkey's involvement in the ongoing Libyan war between Benghazi-based General Khalifa Haftar and the UN-recognized Tripoli GNA government is set to grow.

Following a recent military agreement between Turkey and Tripoli, and as Haftar's forces threaten attack on any Turkish plane or ship, it's expected the Turkish military will set up a base in the war-torn country. Middle East Monitor reports of the latest developments:

Turkey is set to establish a military base in Libya, according to Turkish media reports earlier this week, as President Recep Tayyip weighs up the possibility of intervention in the country’s civil war.

Yeni Shafak reported on Monday that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish parliament had approved a recent agreement between Turkey and Libya on military cooperation. It also includes provisions for launching a “quick reaction force” if requested by the Libyan government.

The exact location for the proposed base has not been revealed, but it will likely be in the vicinity of Tripoli, given that's where they key front line fighting has been as part of Haftar's LNA forces offensive on the capital.
The deal was initially touted by Ankara as primarily for oil and gas exploration off Libya's coast and in the eastern Mediterranean, but was later revealed to include close military cooperation agreements.
Addressing the controversial deal in statements made early this week President Erdogan told a pro-government news channel, "We will be defending the rights of Libya and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean." Already there are unconfirmed reports in Arabic media that Turkish special forces have landed in Tripoli.
But crucially, neighboring Egypt, which has long backed east Libyan strongman Haftar, has condemned the Turkey-Tripoli GNA deal as "illegitimate" and has even signaled its own military intervention could come.
On Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warned in the wake of the Turkey-Libya agreement, "We will not allow anyone to control Libya... it is a matter of Egyptian national security."


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...s-intervention

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Libya's UN-recognised unity government on Thursday approved the implementation of a military deal with Ankara, paving the way for a bigger Turkish role in the war-torn country.Turkey has already supported the Government of National Accord (GNA) in its fight against rival forces of east Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive in April to seize Tripoli from the GNA.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/libyas-gn...205849569.html

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Eastern Libyan forces seized a Grenada-flagged ship with a Turkish crew on Saturday off the Libyan coast, a spokesman said, amid rising tensions with Turkey, which supports the rival and internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/eastern-libya...214021299.html

[Swordsmyth]

As we predicted the Libyan war 2.0 has spilled into the Mediterranean and now standings on the brink of becoming a major renewed international proxy conflict bringing in regional powers, especially Turkey, Egypt, and potentially Russia.

The pro-Haftar Libyan National Army (LNA), based in the war-torn country's east, announced late Saturday it seized a Turkish vessel and briefly detained several Turkish crew members while the freighter was searched for weapons. "A vessel under the flag of Grenada, with a team of Turkish citizens on board, was detained," the LNA press service said. It was seized “because it entered Libya’s territorial waters without prior permission,” the LNA spokesman added.
As of early Monday, the ship and its crew were released, according to the AP, amid soaring tensions over a controversial maritime border deal involving Tripoli and Ankara, which both gives Turkey oil and gas exploration rights in waters claimed by Haftar's Benghazi-based administration, and expands military cooperation between Erdogan and the Tripoli GNA government.


It's not the first time the rebel LNA has seized Turkish vessels and their crew and it likely won't be the last, given Haftar has attempted to enforce a No Fly Zone and has long vowed to seize any Turkish vessels off the coast, given Turkey is militarily backing the UN-recognized government in Tripoli.
Turkey's leaders suggest Ankara is currently upping its support to the GNA, sending military planes with troops and armor amid Haftar's offensive against the capital. Undoubtedly, Turkey has been the most aggressive backer of Tripoli, offering military equipment and even air power, while the UAE has provided most weaponry for Haftar's army, also with assistance Egypt, Saudia Arabia and even Russia (namely, via mercenaries allegedly with the Wagner group).
On Saturday Turkish parliament formally ratified the security and military cooperation deal with Tripoli.


According to Al Jazeera, this has raised eyebrows in Moscow, which is among a growing chorus of countries condemning Turkey's deeper intervention in the conflict:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey could deploy troops to Libya in support of the GNA but no request has yet been made. He said on Friday that Turkey could not remain silent over Russian-backed mercenaries backing Haftar's forces.
Russia, meanwhile, said it was very concerned about the possibility of Turkey deploying troops in Libya and that the security deal raised many questions for Moscow.
Erdogan will discuss Ankara's potential troop deployment to Libya with Russian President Vladimir Putin during talks in Turkey next month, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, while Washington officially recognizes the GNA, the Trump administration has for months verbalized support for Haftar, long seen as the 'CIA's man in Libya'. "Haftar is nothing but a pirate," Erdogan said earlier this year after six Turkish sailors were briefly detained by pro-Haftar forces.
And this latest weekend Turkish freighter incident will likely only increase the Turkish military presence, also as Turkey could be set to explore Libyan waters as part of the recent oil and gas deal with the GNA.

Last week reports in regional media said Turkey is set to establish a military base in Libya, which includes a special “quick reaction force” which can deploy rapidly if requested by the Libyan government.


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ngering-russia

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The leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel plan to sign an agreement early in the new year for the building of the eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline, the Greek prime minister’s office announced Sunday.The agreement will be signed in Athens on Jan. 2 by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As now planned, the pipeline will run across the Mediterranean from Israel’s Levantine Basin offshore gas reserves to the Greek island of Crete and the Greek mainland, and then to Italy.
The deal will be finalized with Italy’s signature at a subsequent date, Mitsotakis’ office said. In May, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had expressed opposition to the Poseidon project, which is the last section of the pipeline that would connect Greece with Italy.
Cyprus, Greece and Israel already signed an agreement on the 1,900-kilometer (1,180-mile) pipeline earlier this year in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The EastMed pipeline is expected to satisfy about 10% of the European Union's natural gas needs, decreasing energy dependence on Russia.
The EU has contributed to the cost of technical studies for the project.
The three signatory countries are joined in a common opposition to Turkey’s recent deal with the U.N.-recognized Libyan government delineating “maritime borders” between the two countries in the Mediterranean. Turkey and Libya are geographically far from each other, with Greece and Egypt being in the way.
The deal is seen as Turkey’s way to pressure for a share in the maritime resources of the eastern Mediterranean, even if this means encroaching into other countries’ space. Turkey, for its part, contends that Greece and Cyprus aim to confine Turkey it its narrow territorial waters.
On a visit Sunday to Cyprus, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was asked if the EastMed deal signing was an answer to Turkey’s deal with Libya.
“What we’re doing is not in reaction to anything," he said. “It’s an effort to improve the quality of life of our countries’ citizens, to improve our economies and to offer solutions, and EastMed is a great energy boost to the European Union’s energy options.
“We don’t see our initiatives as being directed against anyone," he added. “We see them as positive steps, and we invite whomever to take part as long as they agree with the wider framework.”

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, however, said there is a need to counter Turkey’s recent actions.
“We have common goals and approaches and I believe that the proper framework is being created to counter the actions of some who wish to create conditions of instability in the eastern Mediterranean by violating international law,” he said.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cypru...180033051.html

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Turkey may need to draft a bill to allow for troop deployment to Libya and its parliament is working on the issue, Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Tuesday, after Ankara signed a military cooperation agreement with Tripoli last month."There might be a need for an authorization in line with the developments over there. The parliament is conducting work on this issue," Kalin told a news conference in Ankara.
"We will continue to support the internationally recognized Libyan government. This support may be in terms of military training, or other areas, such as political support," Kalin said.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-says-p...160035894.html

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The speaker of Libya's parliament on Saturday urged the international community to reject the legitimacy of the war-torn country's UN-recognised government which is pursuing closer military ties with Turkey.Libya has been beset by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations in the east and the west vying for power.
In a reflection of the deep political divisions, the elected parliament in the east is allied with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is at war with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) recognised by the United Nations.
"In the coming days, the Libyan parliament will take action to ensure the withdrawal of international recognition of this government," parliament speaker Aguila Saleh told AFP in an interview during a visit to Cyprus.
Saleh said he had asked Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides to "convey a message to the European Union so that it withdraws its recognition of this government (the GNA).
"It is time to form a new government supported by the Libyan people and parliament."
Libya's parliament has itself been weakened by the departure of several dozen anti-Haftar lawmakers for Tripoli.


Saleh also met his Cypriot counterpart Demetris Syllouris.
In a joint statement, they called the Turkey-GNA agreement a violation of international law, labelled Turkey's plan to send troops to Libya unacceptable and charged Ankara was escalating regional tensions, reported the Cyprus News Agency.
They also discussed ways to counter Turkey's two Libya agreements, which Cyprus strongly oppose.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-critic...151814752.html

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Turkey's foreign minister warned that the Libyan conflict risks sliding into chaos and becoming the next Syria, as he sought to speed up legislation to allow it to send troops to the North African country.Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has been struggling to fend off General Khalifa Haftar's forces, which have been supported by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan.
"If today Libya becomes like Syria, then the turn will come for the other countries in the region," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday at a meeting of the governing AK Party.

"We need to do whatever is needed to prevent Libya from being divided and slide into chaos, and that is what we are doing. It is the legitimate government there that we deal with," he said, stressing the military and security deal signed with Libya is important.
Cavusoglu will meet with three opposition party leaders on Monday and the government is expected to discuss the motion within the coming week.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-sp...081849214.html

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Greece's Prime Minister said in remarks published on Sunday that if Athens and Ankara cannot solve their dispute about maritime zones in the Mediterranean they should turn to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to settle the disagreement.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in an interview with weekly newspaper 'To Vima', said his intention is for Greece and Turkey to discuss their differences about maritime zones in the Aegean and east Mediterranean on a political and diplomatic level.

"But we should say clearly that if we can't find a solution then we should agree that the one difference that Greece recognizes (over maritime zones) must be judged in an international body like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Hague."
Earlier in December, Cyprus petitioned the ICJ to safeguard its offshore mineral rights. There has been no response so far from Turkey to that initiative.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/greece-pr...111231114.html

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Greece wants to be included in UN-sponsored talks in January on the Libya conflict, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday, as tensions escalate with neighbours Turkey over the issue.Libya has become another diplomatic front for Greece and Turkey as the traditional rivals jostle over Mediterranean maritime rights and the competing camps in the North African country's conflict.
"We do not want a source of instability in our neighbourhood. Therefore we want a say in developments in Libya," Mitsotakis told To Vima weekly in an interview.
"We want to be part of the solution in Libya, as it concerns us too," he said.
The UN has said an international conference will be held next month in Berlin to pave the way for a political solution to Libya's ongoing conflict.


More at: https://news.yahoo.com/greece-wants-...102422930.html

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed to intensify cooperation for a political solution to the crisis in Libya, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Monday. During a phone call between the two leaders, al-Sisi highlighted Egypt's support for the Libyan people in achieving security and stability, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.
The Egyptian stance "is focused on restoring safety and stability in Libya, supporting anti-terrorism efforts, undermining the activities of armed groups and putting an end to the illegal foreign interference in Libya's domestic affairs," Rady noted.
Egypt is concerned about its 1,200 km western border with Libya where the smuggling of arms and militants has been very active since 2011.
Al-Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shouky recently held a series of consultations with some of the world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on ending the conflict in Libya.

More at: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/201..._138667106.htm

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution for the Libyan conflict in separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose government intends to send troops to Libya, a government spokesman said on Monday.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/merkel-er...115942514.html

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The Arab League urged the warring sides in Libya on Tuesday not to do anything that might enable the deployment of foreign fighters in the North African country and worsen its conflict.The Arab League's council, its top body, met in Cairo after Egypt called for an emergency meeting on Libya, where eastern-based forces led by military commander Khalifa Haftar are trying to seize the capital Tripoli.


A statement issued by the Arab League's council warned of "the gravity of taking any unilateral steps ... in a manner that allows foreign military interventions and contributes to the escalation and prolongation of the conflict".
"Regional interventions that help among other things in facilitating the transfer of foreign extremist fighters from other regional conflict zones to Libya" should be prevented, it said.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/arab-leag...164938269.html

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Turkish lawmakers are set to back a bill on Thursday that allows troop deployment in Tripoli, but that is likely to begin with military support, training and drones in the air rather than boots on the ground.

President Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling party’s alliance has a majority but faces opposition to the plan in parliament, said last week Turkey would deploy troops in Libya to support Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
The GNA has requested Turkish support as it fights off an offensive by General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in the country’s east that is backed by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan.
Analysts and officials say Ankara is unlikely to immediately send troops, but rather military advisers and equipment.
A senior Turkish official said last week Turkey may train Libyan soldiers in Turkey, and Reuters reported that Ankara is also considering sending allied Syrian fighters to Tripoli as part of the planned military support.
On Wednesday, Vice President Fuat Oktay said the bill served a symbolic role that Ankara hoped would be a “deterrent” to the parties, and that Turkey may not send troops if Haftar’s forces halted their offensive and pulled back.
“The deployment will likely start with military advisers, increased (drones), and special operations that would work with the Libyan military,” said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who is chairman of the think-tank Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies.
“The hope would be that the Turkish military may not itself be involved in military action,” he said.
Erdogan’s ruling AK Party and its nationalist allies are expected to back the legislation on Thursday despite opposition from the other major parties that say military support would cause Libya’s conflict to spread across the region and endanger Turkey’s safety.

More at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-l...-idUSKBN1Z10UN

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At a moment pro-Haftar Libyan forces have reportedly made advanced near Tripoli International Airport, Turkey's parliament has voted to approve Erdogan's next controversial foreign military adventure — sending troops to Libya to bolster the government under Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj based in Tripoli.

Turkish lawmakers approved the motion (325 to 184) at an emergency session on Thursday to grant a one-year mandate for troop deployment, despite the clearly ratcheting destabilization in the North African country which has been in essentially a state of anarchy since US-NATO regime change aimed at decades-long ruler Muammar Gaddafi.


GNA prime minister Sarraj made the request of Erdogan's government last month, after the two leaders signed a maritime boundary and military cooperation deal that's been hotly contested by other regional countries like Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.

Interestingly, among the key arguments that supporters of deeper Libya involvement advanced during Thursday's parliament vote is that national security would be weakened by continued fighting in Libya. “A Libya whose legal government is under threat can spread instability to Turkey,” ruling party legislator Ismet Yilmaz argued. “Those who shy away from taking steps on grounds that there is a risk will throw our children into a greater danger.”
Turkey's main opposition party, CHP, argued that it would unnecessarily embroil the country into a complicated conflict with no end in sight that would inevitably contribute to the further "shedding of Muslim blood." One option considered is to simply expand Turkish military training to GNA Libyan troops.
It's as yet unclear just how many troops Erdogan has in mind, but likely it would be in the thousands to make a difference against advancing Haftar's army, who weeks ago declared the 'final' and 'decisive' offensive on Tripoli was on.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said to state-run media Turkey is prepared to send “the necessary number (of troops) whenever there is a need”; however, he also suggested there would be no need to the battlefield tide turns decisively in favor of the GNA. “If the other side adopts a different stance and says ‘OK, we are withdrawing, we are backing down,’ then why would we go?” Oktay said.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...-deploy-troops

[Swordsmyth]

Libya's parliament on Thursday denounced as "high treason" Turkey's prospective military intervention in support of the UN-recognised Tripoli-based government.Libya has been beset by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations in the east and the west vying for power.
The elected parliament in the east is allied with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is at war with the UN recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.
"Al-Sarraj and those who support him have requested a foreign intervention in Libya that we designate as high treason", Ehmayed Houma, parliament's deputy vice speaker, told AFP.
Turkish lawmakers on Thursday approved a military deployment in support of the GNA, which has been hit by a Haftar offensive against the capital since early April.
Houma said an "urgent session" of parliament will be held Saturday in the city of Benghazi "to study the repercussions of this blatant infringement by Turkey" in Libya's internal affairs.

"This misguided step by (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, which he foisted on his country's parliament, will have serious repercussions in the region", Houma said, calling on Libyans to rally behind Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/libya-parliam...201800021.html