Foreign troops, including Turkish and Russian, must leave the territory of Libya as soon as possible, French President Emmanuel Macron said
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2021) Foreign troops, including Turkish and Russian, must leave the territory of Libya as soon as possible, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
"We must all try to make sure that the foreign forces that are on the territory of Libya leave it as quickly as possible. Turkish military forces, Russian military forces, foreign fighters imported by them or others to the land of Libya should leave it as soon as possible," Macron said following a meeting at the Elysee Palace with head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed Menfi and his deputy.
The French leader said that only the Libyan military forces had legitimacy and they must ensure security in the country.
Macron later told France 5 channel that it was necessary to clarify the position of Turkey in NATO, referring to Ankara's unilateral actions in recent months.
"France's position was very clear. When [Turkey] took unilateral actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, we condemned it and then acted by sending frigates. Then, in September 2020, we achieved the condemnation [of these actions] at the level of the European Council ... And as I said one year ago, I believe that NATO position is not clear enough on this issue ... We need to clarify Turkey's place in NATO. Usually, allies do not behave like Turkey has done in recent months," Macron said.
At the same time, the French leader pointed out the need to maintain dialogue with Turkey, since Ankara is a partner in the field of security and migration.
Macron also believes that Turkey may try to interfere in the next presidential election in France slate for 2022. At the same time, the French leader added that since the beginning of the year Paris had taken note of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire to restore relations.
On January 15, Macron expressed the intention to normalize bilateral relations between Paris and Ankara in a letter to Erdogan. Earlier in March, Erdogan said that he had held a successful virtual call with Macron, stressing that the relations between the two countries had great potential.
Turkish and French leaders have been in a row over the problem of radical Islamism since October, when Macron pledged to fight the Islamist threat amid national dismay over several terrorist attacks in France, including the brutal beheading of a history teacher in Paris and deadly stabbing in Nice. In response, Erdogan commented on the French president's mental health and urged the Turkish population to refrain from buying French-made products.
