Government of National Accord

Turkey and Russia will hold two-day talks on Syria and Libya, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has an-nounced, amid ongoing ceasefires in both theaters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chair Hakan Fidan visited Libya on June 17 for official meetings.

The delegation met with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Turkey angrily accused France on Tuesday of exacerbating the crisis in Libya and violating UN and NATO decisions by supporting the forces of Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Turkey and Libya's internationally recognized government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on Monday, with a view to a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean.

The Turkish army's training and guidance contributed "very significantly" to the recent military success of Libya's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkey's defense minister has said.

A planned visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Turkey for June 14 was postponed after a phone conversation between the foreign ministers on June 14, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Turkey on Wednesday dismissed Egypt's proposal for a ceasefire in Libya, saying the plan aimed to save Khalifa Haftar after the collapse of his offensive to control the capital Tripoli, Hurriyet newspaper reported.

Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar's recent attempt for a ceasefire in Libya, supported by Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, is "stillborn," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

"Call for a ceasefire in Cairo was stillborn," the minister told daily Hürriyet.

A Turkish ship suspected of carrying arms to Libya, violating a UN-imposed arms embargo, has been spotted in the central Mediterranean Sea in an area monitored by European Union vessels participating in Operation Irini, Kathimerini understands.
The cargo vessel is accompanied by two Turkish frigates.

Athens is bracing for a prolonged period of tension this summer in view of Turkish preparations to conduct exploratory drilling from the north of Rhodes all the way to the southeast of Crete in 24 plots that are included in a map published in the Turkish government's gazette outlining areas where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration permits.