Turkey will continue to support Libya’s internationally recognized government despite Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj announcing last week that he planned to step down by the end of next month, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman.

Ibrahim Kalin said on Monday that Turkish support for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and their bilateral agreements, which include a security pact and a maritime demarcation deal signed last year, would continue.

“These accords will not be impacted by this political

period because these are decisions made by the government, not by any individual,” Kalin told Demiroren News Agency.

Late last year, Ankara reached an agreement with the GNA that it says grants Turkey drilling rights across a corridor of the Eastern Mediterranean – much of it within the maritime jurisdiction Greece also claims. Greece, Cyprus, and other regional actors have denounced the Turkish-Libyan agreement as “illegal”, which Turkey denies.

Kalin said Turkish officials would travel to Tripoli “in the coming days” to discuss developments in the wake of al-Sarraj’s announcement.

Erdogan had also hinted at upcoming talks as he expressed regret at his close ally’s stated intention to hand over power by the end of October.
“Such a development, receiving this kind of news afterward, was of course saddening for us,” Erdogan said on Friday.

“We also conveyed some news to him,” he added. “With these meetings, God willing, we can turn this issue in the direction it’s supposed to be,” Erdogan continued, without elaborating.

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