Libya's Government of National Accord

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has warned that the forces of Khalifa Haftar and their supporters based in eastern Libya would be viewed as "legitimate targets" if they attempted to attack Turkish forces in the region.

Speaking during a visit to Turkish troops in Tripoli on Dec. 26, Akar said Haftar had recently started making calls targeting Turkish forces in Libya.

A passing out ceremony was held on Nov. 21 for Libyan soldiers who completed an eight-week training by the Turkish Armed Forces.

The training was held as part of a deal signed between the two countries last year.

Libyan Defense Minister Salahaddin Namroush said the completion of this training was evidence that the Libyan-Turkish military cooperation was bearing fruit.

Amid escalating tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed ways Monday to further enhance cooperation between Athens and Paris.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on late May 15 demoted the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Navy Rear Admiral Cihat Yaycı, who is known as the architect of Ankara's naval policy regarding Libya.
Daily Hürriyet columnist Nedim Şener said on May 18 that Yaycı resigned after he was assigned to the Turkish General Staff last week.

Warlord Khalifa Haftar is a coup plotter and Ankara continues to support Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA), said Turkey's ruling party spokesman on April 28.

A contested memorandum of understanding delimitating maritime borders between Turkey and Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli is "outrageous" and based on a "flawed reading of international law," a US Senator said on Wednesday during a discussion at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about US Policy towards Libya.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Europe to support its work in Libya, where it is providing military support to the internationally-recognized government, if it wants to end the conflict there.

Erdoğan made his remarks in a column published on the Politico website on Jan. 18, ahead of a summit in Berlin on Jan. 19 that will try to stabilize the country.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday Turkey is ready to provide Tripoli any military support it needs after Ankara and Libya's internationally recognized government signed a security deal. 

"We will be protecting the rights of Libya and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean," he said on A Haber TV. "We are more than ready to give whatever support necessary to Libya."