Libya, Algeria Discuss Border Security

Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
TT

Libya, Algeria Discuss Border Security

Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stressed his country's hope that Libya will hold elections, which would be a "significant step" in resolving its political crisis.

The president received on Thursday Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush.

He urged the need for all foreign militias to withdraw from Libya and for an end to foreign meddling in its internal affairs.

He expressed Algeria's keenness on Libya holding elections before the end of the year, said informed sources.

Presidential and parliamentary elections were set to be held in December 2021, but they were postponed over political disagreements.

Tebboune stressed the need to resolve political disputes between various Libyan parties so that stability can be restored in their country and the region.

Talks with Magnoush also tackled border security, illegal migration, arms smuggling and views on the Ukraine war.

For her part, Magnoush said her one-day visit sought to garner support to Libya's Government of National Unity ahead of holding transparent elections.

Talks also focused on stability in Libya that will ensure stability in the Arab and Maghreb regions, she added.

According to the Libyan Foreign Ministry, Tebboune expressed Algeria's "unconditional support" to the GNU and its strenuous efforts to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

Magnoush also met with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit.



Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye “does not have any secret agenda” in Syria and wants to construct a “new culture of cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.

One of Türkiye’s priorities in the upcoming year is to clear the region of terrorism, Fidan said, referring to Kurdish militants based in northeast Syria. “The extensions of the separatist group in Syria are now facing destruction and the old order is no longer going to continue,” he told a news conference in Istanbul.

Fidan also criticized the United States’ support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as the US seeks to prevent a revival of the ISIS group.

“This kills the spirit of alliance and solidarity,” Fidan said. He said Türkiye is “not going to shy away from taking the necessary steps” in terms of military action.

Türkiye views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by Türkiye and other states.

Referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments that US troops should stay in Syria, Fidan dismissed the views of the outgoing US administration. “This is the problem of the new government and the old government does not have a say in this,” he said.

The SDF is currently involved in fighting the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

Fidan also backed suggestions for Syrian Kurds to join a new national military but said all non-Syrians fighting for the SDF — a reference to those with ties to the PKK — should leave the country.