Turkey’s Parliament Holds Emergency Session to Vote On Sending Troops to Libya

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Turkey’s Parliament Holds Emergency Session to Vote On Sending Troops to Libya

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan anticipated Thursday’s parliament session to vote on sending troops to Libya, by calling on his country’s soldiers to achieve “epics” in the African country and to draw inspiration from the battles of the “Emir of the Ottoman sailors Hayreddin Barbarossa.”

In remarks on Wednesday, Erdogan said that his country “is going to take a new step in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We hope that our soldiers in the eastern Mediterranean will achieve heroic epics, such as those achieved by the Emir of the Ottoman sailors Hayreddin Barbarossa” (1478 - 1546), he stated.

The Turkish Parliament convened in an emergency session on Thursday to discuss and vote on a motion submitted by the government to obtain a mandate to send soldiers to Libya, at the request of the Libyan National Reconciliation government, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, based on an agreement of understanding in military and security cooperation signed between the two sides on November 27.

The Republican People’s Party, the largest of the Turkish opposition parties, announced its refusal to send forces to Libya, explaining that it would vote against granting the government the mandate, while the Nationalist Movement Party, which was allied with the Justice and Development within the framework of the People’s Alliance, said that that its 49 deputies would vote in favor of the motion.

In the same context, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the Skhirat agreement in Libya “requires the support of the government of national reconciliation”, which it described as “legitimate and internationally recognized.”

Erdogan said last month that Sarraj requested the Turkish deployment, after he and Sarraj signed a military deal that allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel to Libya.

Ankara says the deployment is vital for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean.



EU Official: 175 Mn Euro Syria Recovery Package 'Clear Message' of Support

EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
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EU Official: 175 Mn Euro Syria Recovery Package 'Clear Message' of Support

EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

Visiting EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Thursday that a 175 million euro package for war-torn Syria was a "clear message" of support for its reconstruction.

Suica announced the package in Damascus Wednesday, saying it would focus on sectors including energy, education, health and agriculture, helping rebuild Syria's economy, support its institutions and promote human rights.

"I came here... with a clear message that we are here to assist and help Syria on its recovery," Suica told AFP in an interview on Thursday.

"We want that reconstruction and recovery will be Syria-owned and Syria-led," she said, on the first visit by an EU commissioner since a transitional government was unveiled in late March.

"We want to see Syria to be a regular, normal, democratic country in the future," she added.

The European Union announced last month it would lift economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help its recovery.

"This is a pivotal moment -- a new chapter in EU-Syria relations," Suica said on X, calling her meeting with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa "constructive".

Like Syria's neighbors, Western governments are keen to steer it onto the road to stability after the war triggered an exodus of millions of refugees.

Refugee returns should be "safe, voluntary and dignified", Suica said.

The EU has not designated Syria as a safe country for returns "because we don't want to push people to come here and then they don't have a home", she said.