Turkey accuses French President of seeking to increase Russian presence in Libya

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on June 30 accused the French President of seeking to increase Russian presence in Libya and called France’s involvement in the Libyan conflict a ‘destructive approach’. Amid the soaring tensions between the two NATO allies, Cavusoglu reportedly claimed that Emmanuel Macron ‘can’t manage to govern’ France and has only been in Libya for its own interests and ambitions. He further called it a ‘destructive approach’ and pointed out that France pushed Africa to instability in the past with a colonialist approach and ‘bombed and quit’ Libya in 2011. 

While the French President, Macron accused Turkey of ‘criminal responsibility’ over its involvement in the Libyan conflict, the Turkish foreign minister responded by reportedly saying that NATO sees Russia as a threat but France is working to increase Russia’s presence in Libya. Cavusoglu statement comes after Macron strongly condemned Turkey’s actions in Libya as ‘unacceptable’. 

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On June 29, Macron reportedly lashed out at Turkey and said that they don’t respect any of its commitments. As per reports, France also sees Ankara as an obstacle to securing a cease-fire in the conflict-torn country. The tensions between France and Turkey also escalated following an incident between Turkish warships and French naval vessel in the Mediterranean, which France considers a hostile act under NATO’s rules of engagement. 

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France accuses Turkey of repeated violations 

France has reportedly accused Turkey of repeated violations of the UN arms embargo and of importing Syrian fighters to Libya. While Cavusoglu said that France was working against NATO and in favour of Russia in Libya, earlier this month, Macron reportedly also condemned interference in Libya from Russian private military contractor Wagner. 

Libya has been In turmoil since 2011 when dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted. The oil-rich country has since been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and different foreign governments. While Macron has repeatedly claimed that he is in favour of finding a ‘political solution’, some leaders also suspect that France is backing Haftar alongside Egypt, Russia and the UAE. Meanwhile, the UN-supported government in the capital Tripoli is mainly backed by Turkey. 

(Image: AmiraAmari2/Twitter) 

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