Erdogan spokesman: Turkey still support the GNA of Libya although the announcement of Al-Sarraj to leave

Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Monday that and the deals and cooperation of Turkey with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) will persist although that the Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj wants to leave.

In fact, the support of the Turkish military helped Al-Sarraj’s GNA to repel an attack on Tripoli by Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA). After that Ankara signed a controversial maritime deal with the government of Al-Sarraj which gave Turkey drilling rights over large swathes of the eastern Mediterranean, It has been accused of sending thousands of Syrian mercenaries to Libya to fight alongside the GNA.

On his part, President Tayyip Erdogan reported that Turkey was annoyed by the declaration of Al-Sarraj about his desire to quit, however, Kalin declared that Turkish support for the GNA and their bilateral deals, which include a security deal signed last year, would remain.

Kalin informed Demiroren News Agency: These accords will not be impacted by this political period because these are decisions made by the government, not by any individual.

Indeed, the GNA announced last month a ceasefire and appealed for the lifting of a months-long blockade on oil production. The head of a competitive parliament in eastern Libya also called for a stop to hostilities, which gave some hope for a de-escalation of the dispute across Libya since a 2011 rebellion.
Moreover, Haftar rejected the calls; however, he reported on Friday that he would lift for one month his blockade on oil production and that he agreed with the GNA on a fair distribution of energy revenue.