Turkey's FM briefs main opposition party on Libya

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu, Mehmet Tosun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday met the main opposition party leader to discuss the upcoming parliament session on possible military deployment in Libya.

Cavusoglu informed Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) about the motion to be submitted in the parliament when it opens after recess.

The closed-door meeting lasted for 50 minutes, according to the party officials.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Cavusoglu said: "Of course the decision on the motion is up to CHP.

"We have told them why we need a resolution, including the threats we face, in terms of our country and the national interests of our country."

Cavusoglu added that he will not be visiting the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), another major party in the parliament, as it had already voiced its support for the motion in a statement on Saturday.

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.