Turkey's military presence in Libya constitutes "
a force for stability,
" Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told AFP on Saturday the day after President Emmanuel Macron's demand against Turkey and of Russia to withdraw “
without delay
” their “
mercenaries
”.
“
Sometimes our allies raise this issue as if the Turkish presence is the main problem in Libya.
This is not the case.
(...) We are there as a force for stability and to help the Libyan people
, ”said Ibrahim Kalin.
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Turkey and Russia must withdraw from Libya "
without delay
" their "
mercenaries
" whose presence "
threatens the stability and security of the country and the entire region,
" the French president said Friday at the end of an international conference. on Libya in Paris. “
Our soldiers are there under an agreement with the Libyan government. They cannot therefore be put on the same level as mercenaries who are taken from other countries,
”retorted Ibrahim Kalin.
The spokesperson for the Turkish presidency also questioned “
the efforts
” of Western countries for the withdrawal of the Russian paramilitary company Wagner from Libya.
“
There is the presence of Wagner, the Russian mercenaries there.
I don't know what our friends and allies in Europe are doing about it.
Are they really talking to Russia about it or are they really making a serious and concerted effort to get Wagner out of Libya?
He asked.
Read also10 years after the death of Gaddafi, where is the situation in Libya?
The international conference on Libya in Paris on Friday endorsed "
the Libyan plan for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries
".
Several thousand Russian mercenaries - from the private group Wagner -, pro-Turkish Syrians, Chadians and Sudanese are still present in Libya, according to the Elysee, the palace of the French presidency.
But Turkey shows itself in no hurry to initiate a withdrawal of its forces.
The Kremlin denies any sending of soldiers or mercenaries to Libya as well as any link with the Wagner group.
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