Turkey-Libya military deal to contribute to stability

A recent agreement between Turkey and Libya on military cooperation will make a "great" contribution to the stability both countries, Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakçı said Monday.

In an address to Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Kaymakçı told lawmakers that the government signed the agreement to further improve its relations with Libya.

"We think that the agreement will make a great contribution to Libya's stability, improving the country's crumbling infrastructure and protect Turkey's interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa," Kaymakçı said.

He noted that the agreement would form the legal infrastructure for Turkey-Libya relations.

Seeking to "provide a ground for relations and develop cooperation" between Turkey and Libya's U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the agreement includes increased cooperation in the exchange of personnel, materials, equipment, consultancy and experience between the two sides.

It also offers Turkish support for the establishment of a Quick Reaction Force for Libya's police and military as well as enhanced cooperation on intelligence and in the defense industry, among others.

On Nov. 27, Ankara and the Tripoli-based Libyan government signed two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU), one on military cooperation and the other one on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The earlier memorandum on maritime boundaries asserted Turkey's rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the resources in the area. It went into effect on Dec. 8.

Following the military cooperation deal, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said Ankara would consider sending troops to Libya if the government asked for military assistance.