Tripoli

The agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea signed between Turkey and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) infringes the interests and the sovereign rights of European Union member states, particularly of Greece and Cyprus, France said on Thursday, adding that the memorandum violates the UN Law of the Sea Convention.

In the Great Game over East Mediterranean gas, the US is strengthening security ties with Greece while Athens and Ankara court opposing sides in the military fight for Tripoli.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Istanbul, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 12

The closed-door meeting between Erdoğan and Fayez al-Sarraj is underway at the Dolmabahçe Palace.     

Forces loyal to Libya's renegade Gen. Khalifa Haftar accepted a joint call by Turkey and Russia for a cease-fire and truce in the battle for Tripoli on Jan. 10. 

Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said in a video message that forces accepted the cease-fire call but would harshly respond if violated. 

Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who commands armed militia based in eastern Libya, rejected a truce on Jan. 9 encouraged by Russia and Turkey, according to militia spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari.

European leaders warned Libya's internationally recognised prime minister on Wednesday against allowing Turkish troops on Libyan soil or agreeing to a natural gas deal with Turkey to avoid worsening the latest turmoil in the country.

Turkey and Italy's foreign ministers held talks on Jan. 7 in the Turkish metropolitan city of Istanbul.

"Happy to welcome Minister of Foreign Affairs @luigidimaio of #Italy," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in a Twitter post following his meeting with Luigi di Maio.

Turkey has slammed an attack by General Khalifa Haftar forces against a military academy in Tripoli, which claimed the lives of at least 30 academy students, and renewed its calls on the cessation of foreign military support to Haftar.

The head of the U.N. on Jan. 4 urged an "immediate ceasefire" in war-weary Libya where the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) fights forces affiliated with Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said it had destroyed 12 armed vehicles and killed 10 militants of rival Khalifa Haftar forces as fresh clashes hit southern Tripoli.

In April, Haftar's forces launched a military campaign to capture Tripoli from the internationally recognized government.