From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Trump warns Erdogan against ‘foreign interference’ in Libya
US President Donald Trump warns his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan against any “foreign interference” in Libya, the White House says, after Turkish lawmakers approved a military deployment to shore up the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
In a telephone call, Trump “pointed out that foreign interference is complicating the situation in Libya,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley says in a statement.
The government in Tripoli has been under sustained attack since April by military strongman General Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Turkey’s regional rivals — Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Erdogan has repeatedly accused Russia of sending private mercenaries to support Haftar’s forces, though this has been denied by Moscow.
— AFP
The Times of Israel Community.