By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's latest steps completely foiled the plots to exclude the country from the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish president said Tuesday.
“The project to exclude Turkey from the Mediterranean has been foiled with the latest steps we have taken,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his address to the nation.
"With support to the legitimate Tripoli government, Turkey will ensure implementation of all elements of agreements with Libya," Erdogan added.
Turkey's presidency on Monday submitted a motion to the Parliament Speaker's Office on sending troops to Libya. The parliament is set to debate the motion on Thursday.
On Nov. 27, Ankara and Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts: one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011 when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.
Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power — one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli — and a host of heavily-armed militia groups.
