Africa

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).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the conflict in Libya and the situation in the eastern Mediterranean in a video call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Merkel's spokesman said in a statement on June 16.

France wants talks with NATO allies to discuss Turkey's increasingly "aggressive" and "unacceptable" role in Libya, a French presidential official said on Monday, underscoring increased tensions between Ankara and Paris.

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.

Libya's foreign minister on June 14 urged the U.N. Security Council to refer mass graves discovered in the city of Tarhuna to the International Criminal Court.

According to a written statement published by the Foreign Ministry on its Facebook account, Mohamed Siala sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council.

Hoteliers in Istanbul have demanded the Algerian Embassy pay in full the expenses of the Algerians who were stranded in the city and accommodated in hotels after flights were cancelled in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

The U.N. is urging an investigation after the discovery of multiple mass graves in the city of Tarhuna, Libya, recently liberated from warlord Khalifa Haftar.