Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said conditions are ripe for Libya’s reunification, signalling a possible announcement in the near future.
Speaking to journalists in Istanbul on Friday after hosting counterparts from Europe and the region, including Egypt, Fidan stressed the need to bring Libya’s military structures under a single national command.
“We have now reached a stage where the conditions are ripe to permanently secure the reunification of the east and the west,” he said.
“Both sides have military structures. These structures need to be brought together under a national army.”
“One of the most important pillars of national unification is how the military units currently controlled separately by both sides will be brought together under a single umbrella,” Fidan said.
He added: “God willing, you will soon hear very good news about this from Türkiye.”
Dialogue on maritime agreement
Fidan also addressed the maritime demarcation agreement between Türkiye and Libya, which Libya’s House of Representatives unanimously approved on Tuesday.
“As Türkiye, we are in a very constructive position on this matter,” he said.
“Türkiye, Italy, and Egypt can come together to discuss Egypt's concerns and Libya's concerns.”
Signed on November 27, 2019, by Türkiye and Libya’s House of Representatives, the agreement delimits their maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean, based on Ankara’s interpretation of international maritime law.
Türkiye maintains that its extensive Mediterranean coastline entitles it to maritime jurisdiction areas that should not be disproportionately restricted by Greek islands close to its mainland.
