UPDATE - Turkey: Libya motion published in Official Gazette

UPDATES WITH AFGHANISTAN MOTION PUBLISHED IN GAZETTE

By Muhammed Nuri Erdogan

ANKARA (AA) - A motion calling for the extension of Turkish troop deployment in Libya for another 18 months was published in Turkey's Official Gazette early Thursday.

The motion, approved Tuesday, said "there are threats from Libya to Turkey and the entire region, and if attacks resume again, Turkey's interests in the Mediterranean basin and North Africa will be adversely affected.”

It added that permanent peace, a cease-fire that was agreed to in October and political dialogue in Libya are of great importance to Turkey.

"Turkey, within the Memorandum of Security and Military Cooperation signed with Libya, will continue to contribute to the training and consultancy support to Libya," it said.

The proposal was submitted by the presidency last week in light of a request by Libya's UN-recognized government for military assistance.

In late November, Ankara and Tripoli signed a pact on military cooperation as well as an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya mainly supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

Turkey sent its troops to the North African country on a year-long mandate in January.

-Afghanistan motion

Another motion approved Tuesday by the parliament to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in Afghanistan for 18 months as part of NATO’s support mission in the war-torn country was also published in the Official Gazette.

The motion said that Turkey has always backed the "unity, integrity and independence of Afghanistan.”

Legislation was put into effect on Jan. 6, 2019 allowing the Turkish government to send troops to Afghanistan to support the NATO-led mission Resolute Support.

After ending the 17-year combat mission in Afghanistan in 2018, the mission has evolved into the training and advising of the nascent Afghan security forces.

Around 12,000 foreign troops from 28 NATO allies and 14 other partner nations agreed to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

The legislation, which was first passed in 2015, also grants the government the authority to permit foreign army personnel to be transported to and from Afghanistan through Turkey.

*Writing by Sena Guler