The Libyan Army rejected the demand by the 5+5 joint military committee on Tuesday that agreements signed by the previous legitimate government be frozen, including one signed with Turkey.
The commander of Western Military Zone's Joint Operations Room, Maj. Gen. Osama Juwaili stated on social media that, "Agreements with Turkey were requested by the legitimate GNA (Government of National Accord) to help repel the offensive on Tripoli, while Russia and other countries that have troops on the ground in Libya have no legitimate agreements with the government."
On Nov. 27, 2019, the internationally recognized Libyan government signed a security cooperation agreement and demarcation of a maritime border with Turkey.
The Turkey-Libya deal on maritime delimitation has provided a legal framework to prevent any fait accompli by regional states. Accordingly, the attempts by the Greek government to appropriate huge parts of Libya's continental shelf, since a political crisis hit the North African country in 2011, have been averted.
The agreement also confirmed that Turkey and Libya are maritime neighbors. The delimitation starts from Turkey’s southwestern coast of Fethiye-Marmaris-Kaş and extends to the Derna-Tobruk-Bordia coastline of Libya.
Furthermore, within the scope of the security agreement, Turkey has started providing military training to Libyan soldiers.
Turkey had backed the internationally recognized Tripoli-based GNA, against the eastern-based forces of putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, which was supported by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and France.
Selected through a United Nations-led process, Libya’s new interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), was sworn in on March 15, created from two rival political groups that had ruled eastern and western regions, completing a smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos.
The new interim government, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, will lead the country to elections in December.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met with Libyan Chief of General Staff Muhammed Ali Haddad on Tuesday on the sidelines of the International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF 2021) in Istanbul.
Akar and Haddad discussed regional and bilateral security issues while Akar reiterated Turkey's support for the country.
