Turkish military units moving to Libya, says Erdogan
The deployment follows deals that Libya and Turkey struck in November on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, and on military co-operation.
urkish soldiers march within the event of the “Turkey Marches with Martyrs” to commemorate the victims of the World War I Battle of Sarikamis, in Kars, Turkey on January 05, 2020.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish military units have started moving to Libya to support Fayez al Sarraj's internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli.
"Our soldiers' duty there is coordination. They will develop the operation centre there. Our soldiers are gradually going right now," he said in a television interview.
He said Saudi Arabia's condemnations on the issue does not disturb Turkey.
Turkey trying to ease US-Iran tension
Turkey is trying to reduce tensions between the US and Iran, Erdogan said, amid sharp escalation in the region, following the killing of top Iranian commander in a US drone airstrike in Baghdad.
"Turkey always stands against foreign intervention and considers recent US attack in Baghdad with this same understanding," he said.
Erdogan said Iran probably would not remain silent over the killing of Qasem Soleimani.
The Turkish president said he will host his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Turkey on January 8 and the leaders will discuss TurkStream including other regional issues.
Erdogan also said he hoped that Turkey and Russia can help achieve a ceasefire in Idlib to avoid civilian casualties.
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