Erdogan, Trump agree on ‘some issues’ regarding Libya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he and US President Donald Trump have come to unspecified agreements about the conflict in Libya, where a host of countries are aiding rebels against a Turkish-backed government.

“A new era between Turkey and the US may start after our phone call. We agreed on some issues,” Erdogan said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT on Monday, without elaborating.

Ankara backs the internationally-recognized government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj against rebels commanded by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, among other countries, back Haftar.

The White House also said in a statement that Trump and Erdogan had discussed the conflict in Libya, as well as Syria and the wider eastern Mediterranean region, but similarly provided no details.

Haftar’s rebels launched a deadly offensive to capture Tripoli, the seat of the Libyan government, in April last year. They have not been able to advance past the city’s outskirts. Recently, government forces have made major gains against the rebels, retaking a major airport and liberating several towns.

Egypt recently proposed a ceasefire that would have started on Monday as the Libyan rebels lost ground. While Russia and the UAE welcomed that initiative, the Libyan government and Turkey — whose support for Tripoli has helped change the course of the war — said fighting would continue to recapture the coastal city of Sirte and the Jufra air base, to the south, in a strategic region of the oil-exporting country.

“Now the goal is to take over the whole Sirte area and get it done. These are areas with the oil wells, these are of great importance,” Erdogan said.

Libya’s Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha also stressed that the government would engage in political talks only after retaking Sirte and also the inland Jufra airbase.

Erdogan also announced that he would discuss Libyan matters with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including what he said was the supply of Russian planes and Pantsir air defense systems to Haftar’s rebels.

“They have Pantsirs there, they sent 19 warplanes to Libya,” Erdogan said, adding, “After talking with him (Putin), we can plan ahead.”

Russia has denied dispatching warplanes to Libya.

MG