UPDATE - Türkiye, Libya sign agreements on hydrocarbon, gas

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER, REVISES DECK

By Merve Aydogan and Mahmoud Barakat

ANKARA (AA) - Stressing the strong ties between Türkiye and Libya, the Turkish foreign minister announced in Tripoli on Monday the signing of memorandums of understanding on hydrocarbon and gas between the two countries.

Saying that Türkiye has always stood with Libya and its people in times of need, Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press conference with his Libyan counterpart Najla El Mangoush that his country will continue to support Libya without any hesitation.

Cavusoglu, along with a high-level delegation including Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, came to the capital of the North African country for talks on bilateral ties and regional issues.

Asked if Greece and France might oppose the new deals, Cavusoglu said third countries have no right to interfere with agreements signed between two sovereign states.

"The agreements signed today and before (November 2019) are agreements between two sovereign states, Türkiye and Libya, with a win-win understanding,” he said. “So third countries do not have the right to interfere with the agreements signed by the two sovereign countries. It doesn't matter what they think.”

On elections in Libya, the top Turkish diplomat said this should be a process decided by Libyans, calling for the drawing up of a roadmap in this regard.

"Elections must be held transparently, fairly and democratically. Election results must be embraced by all parties in the country. This is highly important not only for national unity but also for political stability, and Türkiye places great importance on this," he added.

- 'Moving forward to political stability' in Libya

For her part, El Mangoush said that talks tackled a number of important topics between the two countries, “especially cooperation in the fields of energy, security training, communications, the media, and diplomacy.”

She underlined that such agreements reflect “the deep historical mutual relations between the two friendly countries.”

She stressed the importance of the new agreement in light of the Ukraine crisis and its repercussions for the world.

El Mangoush said also she spoke with her Turkish counterpart about the Libyan government’s political view on “moving forward to pave the way for political stability” to reach a clear roadmap with determined obligations of Libyan sides to hold elections as well as ensuring international support for the roadmap.

She also mentioned important steps needed to hold elections, particularly resolving the constitutional basis dispute and if there is a persistent disagreement on the issue, she said solutions like referendums or going to the constitutional court should be followed.

“If there is agreement on a constitutional basis, the parliament shall issue a law to regulate it to take effect,” she said.

Such steps, El Mangoush said, shall be followed by scheduling a date for elections by the High National Election Commission, and the Government of National Unity shall be obliged to facilitate security and logistics to hold polls.

“The task of achieving elections in Libya is the responsibility of all, which requires the concerted efforts of the legislative and executive bodies far from any political polarization and avoiding any scenarios that do not meet the aspirations of the Libyan people,” she added.