Libya's Tripoli-based government has dismissed a ban on Turkish companies imposed by the rival government based in Tobruk, saying such a ban could only be applied in the latter government's area of control in the country's east, which is controlled by troops loyal to the Tobruk-based cabinet. "The Tobruk government is using the issue of Turkish companies as a pressure tool to achieve political goals," Omar Hussein Baio, spokesman for the Tripoli government, told Anadolu Agency.The assertion came two days after Libya's internationally recognized Tobruk government announced a decision to exclude Turkish companies from state projects in Libya. The decision came during an emergency meeting of the Tobruk government in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, during which cabinet ministers decided to revisit all state contracts with foreign companies. Last week, Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani warned Turkey of measures that could be potentially taken against Turkish companies due to what he described as Turkish "interference" in Libya's affairs. This interference, Thani said at a press conference, "negatively impacts Libya's security and stability." Last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said his country's support for Libya since the country's 2011 revolution had "always been clear," especially in the form of Turkish support for Libya's reconstruction efforts and the development of the country's state institutions. Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of autocratic leader Moammar Gadhafi in late 2011. Since then, sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions. Vying for legislative authority are the House of Representatives, which convenes in Tobruk, and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which even though its mandate has ended, it continues to convene in Tripoli. The two assemblies support two different governments, respectively headquartered in the two cities, and both have substantial military capacities. The Turkey Contractors' Association said last year that $19 billion in construction projects have been mothballed by Turkish firms in Libya because of fighting between rival factions.Yusuf Cevahir, chairman of Cevahir Holding, which has been operating in Libya since 1975, said that they had made investments valued at $200 million in Libya by the time the first war broke out in the country and they had to transport all the construction workers to Turkey via ships. "The political problems we are facing today are the same as the ones back then. While Turkey is trying to decrease losses to the minimum level, Libya is not moving rationally. At this point, the Turkish government is expected to establish more proactive political ties and protect its close contacts. This is what Turkish investors expect," Cevahir said. CONTRIBUTED BY AA