Turkey's Cavusoglu warns against 'Syria-like' crisis in Libya

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned on Saturday against attempts to create a situation in Libya similar to that in civil war-torn Syria.

"They want to turn [the situation in] Libya to [the one in] Syria. If today Libya becomes like Syria, then the turn will come for the other countries in the region," Cavusoglu told the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party's consultation meeting in Antalya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

"We need to do whatever is needed to prevent Libya from being divided and slide into chaos, and that is what we are doing. It is the legitimate government there that we deal with," he said, stressing the military and security deal signed with Libya is important.

On November 27, Ankara and Tripoli's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate agreements, one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the eastern Mediterranean.

OIC unity questioned

Highlighting the constant conflicts in the Islamic world, Cavusoglu criticised the lack of unity in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying it is not strong enough to solve the problems in this regard.

On Saturday’s deadly terrorist attack in Somalia, Cavusoglu said: "We have never left our Somalian brothers alone so far and we will never [leave them]."

At least 78 people, including two Turkish nationals, were killed and many more wounded in a car bomb attack on a security checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Also addressing Turkey's first indigenous car prototype publicised on Friday, Cavusoglu said Turkey "changes the balances" of the market.

The fully electric car was manufactured by Turkey's Automobile Joint Venture Group, TOGG, a conglomerate of industrial giants, in 18 months.

The car will have two options -–– 200 and 400 horsepower –– with a 500-km range and level 3 automation in 2022, the scheduled time for its production.