Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Wednesday with his Tunisian colleague Kais Saied possible steps and cooperation to bring about a ceasefire in Libya.
Erdogan unexpectedly arrived in Tunis earlier on Wednesday for talks with Saied, his office said, without providing any further details. He is the first head of state to visit Tunisia since the election in October from Kais Saied to the president after the Tunisian parliamentary elections.
At a press conference with Saied, Erdogan said that he believed that Tunisia could contribute “valuable and constructive” to establishing stability in Libya. He added that there should be a ceasefire as soon as possible.
In a statement, Erdogan’s office said he was accompanied by his foreign and defence ministers, as well as his intelligence head.
The visit comes at a time when Turkey has stepped up its efforts to close deals with Mediterranean countries probably because Ankara is at odds with Greece about raw materials off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus.
Last month, Turkey signed a maritime delimitation agreement with the internationally recognized government of Libya, a move that made Greece furious. Athens says the deal violates international law, but Ankara says it wants to protect its rights in the region and fully comply with maritime law.
As part of the extensive cooperation with Libya, a neighboring country of Tunisia, Ankara has also signed a military cooperation agreement with the Tripoli-based government of National Agreement (GNA) of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.
