As he expressed condolences for the deaths of the Libyan army chief and his delegation in a plane crash in Ankara, government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also branded the incident as “meaningful.”
“It is worrying and meaningful that this crash happened at a time when Türkiye and Libya elevated their sincere, close dialogue and engaged in defending their mutual rights and interests in cooperation,” Bahçeli wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.
“The sorrow of Libya, with which we have historic, economic and deep-rooted ties, is Türkiye’s sorrow,” he said.
Türkiye and Libya maintain close relations, especially after the fall of the Moammar Gadhafi regime. In 2019, the two countries signed a landmark maritime jurisdiction, expanding their cooperation in the Mediterranean Sea, to the chagrin of Greece and some other regional countries seeking influence in the same area. Most recently, Türkiye also started establishing contacts with Khalifa Haftar of Libya in a rare outreach to the commander who de facto rules Libya’s east. Shortly before the crash, the Turkish Parliament had approved a 24-month extension to the deployment of Turkish troops in the North African country.
The Falcon 50-type business jet carrying Libya’s chief of general staff, Mohamed Ali al-Haddad, four accompanying officials and three crewmembers crashed late Tuesday after taking off from Ankara's Esenboğa Airport en route to Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The delegation was leaving Türkiye after holding talks with Turkish officials, including National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, on Tuesday.
A group of military officials from Libya is carrying out inspections at the crash site. The military officials arrived in the capital Ankara by air on Wednesday and were welcomed by National Defense Ministry officials and later traveled by minibus to Kesikkavak in Ankara's Haymana district, where the jet went down late Tuesday, killing everyone on board.
The delegation then proceeded to the area where the wreckage is located, where search and investigation efforts are ongoing.
The black box and cockpit voice recorder were recovered early Wednesday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, adding that the wreckage is spread out over an area of roughly 3 square kilometers (about 1.16 square miles). The process of examining and evaluating these devices, which should help determine the cause of the crash, has begun, Yerlikaya said.
Over 400 personnel have been working at the scene with 103 ground vehicles and seven air vehicles, he added.
A 22-member Libyan delegation, including five relatives of the victims, Defense Ministry representatives and officials from the Interior Ministry, has also arrived in Ankara, Yerlikaya said.
"We are also very curious about (the cause of the crash), but this data will reveal the cause, and the authorities will share the findings with you," he said.
