In a statement on Saturday, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez affirmed Cairo’s rejection of Turkish interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya, saying they violate UN Security Council resolutions.
“The Arab nations do not want any attempts or ambitions from those who seek to rule to achieve [their own] interests and goals,” Hafez said.
The spokesman expressed “surprise” over statements from Turkish officials regarding the legitimacy of elected Libyan bodies calling for Egyptian support in combating terrorism and extremism exported from Syria to Libya.
Hafez also expressed surprise over Turkey “risking the destiny of its nation by intervening in Arab countries’ crises to complicate and deepen them and to empower certain currents.”
His statements come one day after Erdogan denounced Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on Friday for supporting eastern-based forces led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, describing the steps by Egypt as “illegal.”
Egypt, the UAE and Russia are backing military commander Khalifa Haftar in the east, while Turkey supports the Tripoli-based GNA.
The Turkish denunciation comes after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told representatives from Libyan tribes on Thursday that Cairo will not stand idle in the face of actions that pose a direct and strong threat to Egypt and Libya, as well as to Arab, regional and international security.
The Egyptian diplomat concluded his statement by saying that “the Arab peoples refuse any efforts or ambitions for those who want to run their affairs to achieve interests and goals that have nothing to do with them.”
This comes against the backdrop of the recent military escalation in Libya, where the government forces of Al-Wefaq, which resulted from the Skhirat Agreement with the support of Turkey, managed to make tangible field progress at the expense of the “Libyan National Army” led by Khalifa Haftar and reach the outskirts of the city of Sirte.
The Libyan Parliament, which supports the forces of Haftar (which is based in Tobruk), recently authorized Egypt to intervene militarily in Libya in order to “preserve the national security of the two countries.”
Last Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received a delegation of sheikhs and notables from the Libyan tribal leaders, who said that he would seek the approval of the Egyptian parliament to enter forces into Libya, indicating that the Egyptian army will not enter and will not leave Libya except at the request of local tribes.
Source: RT
