Erdoğan says Turkey, US nearing new era in ties in handling of Libya

Turkey and the U.S. are approaching a new era in ties over the handling of the situation in Libya, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said June 8.  

A new era can begin in bilateral relations on the transition process in Libya, Erdoğan told national broadcaster TRT.

He stressed that Turkey stands by Libya's U.N.-recognized government against the putschist Khalifa Haftar and those who support him.  

Touting the strategic gains on the battlefield by Libya's army, which has retaken areas from Haftar, he said Haftar will be excluded from any political solution in Libya.   

Erdoğan also said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Moscow's claims that it does not have any soldiers in Libya.    

He added that all of Haftar's power comes from Russia.    

Following the ouster of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a political deal led by the U.N. 

The government and western parts of the country have been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with over 1,000 killed.  

Erdoğan also emphasized that so far, things have gone well in Idlib, Syria since a ceasefire came into effect in March but noted that some of the agreements reached by Ankara and Moscow have not been adhered to and there have been violations by the Bashar al-Assad regime.   

In the meantime, Erdoğan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump held a phone call on June 8 focusing on bilateral relations, regional issues, and the situation in Libya, according to Turkey's Communication Directorate.

Erdoğan told Trump about his concerns that those behind the recent violence and looting during protests in the U.S. are working with the YPG/PKK, a terrorist group operating in...