Tripoli

Forces fighting for Libya's internationally recognized government said on June 4 they had regained control over Tripoli and a military source with the eastern forces that have been attacking the capital said they were withdrawing.

The foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Jordan held a video conference on Wednesday to discuss ongoing developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region and other issues.

In a statement, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said he had briefed his counterparts over Turkey's "increasingly provocative rhetoric and behavior which is destabilizing the entire region."

The prime minister of Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayyez al-Sarraj, will pay a visit to Ankara on June 4 for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Turkey's top security board has reiterated that Turkey's support to the Tripoli government will continue in its fight against General Khalifa Haftar forces.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın on June 1 held a phone conversation with U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien, according to the spokesperson's office.

The two officials discussed various issues including recent developments in Syria and Libya, the fight against COVID-19, the fight with terrorism, and recent protests in the U.S.

Sections of 24 blocks outlined in the Turkish Government Gazette on May 30 stemming from the contentious maritime borders agreement signed last November between Turkey and the Tripoli-based government in Libya come within or beyond 6 nautical miles of the coasts of eastern Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes, and overlap the Greek continental shelf.

The pandemic has complicated an already difficult situation in migration and relations with Turkey. The way that Greece is handling Covid-19, though, might suggest a way to deal with other issues, too. As many have observed, the situation demands national consensus and self-discipline.

Russia has not sent military personnel to Libya and the Russian upper house of parliament has not received a request to approve such a dispatch, Interfax on May 27 cited Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the upper house's international affairs committee, as saying.

Russia recently sent fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries fighting for strongman Khalifa Haftar in the long-running conflict, the U.S. military said on May 26.    

Forces backing Libya's U.N.-recognised government said on May 25 that hundreds of Russian mercenaries fighting for rival military commander Khalifa Haftar had been evacuated from combat zones south of the capital Tripoli.    

Hundreds of Russian mercenaries fighting for Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized government were evacuated from combat zones south of the capital Tripoli, according to various reports.

The reports come after a series of setbacks for Haftar's year-long offensive to seize the capital from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).