The “Navy General Staff” in eastern Libya – loyal to Khalifa Haftar’s militias – said Wednesday it would allow Turkish vessels to enter the region’s ports, a move that comes after more than one order by Haftar to prevent Turkish ships from entering Libyan waters in the east, vowing at times to target them if they enter the waters.
The Navy General Staff told the administration of ports and sea transportation in the east in a letter that it wouldn’t mind allowing Turkey-flagged commercial ships to enter pro-Haftar ports in eastern Libya as per the existing laws.
In June 2019, Haftar issued an order to target Turkish ships inside territorial waters, and considered Turkish companies and positions as legitimate targets.
A Turkish ship, transporting medicine to Libya’s Misrata port was detained in December last year by forces loyal to Haftar before it was released a few days later.
In November 2019, Turkey and Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed an MoU on military cooperation, as well as another MoU on maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The deals involve technical information, support, development, maintenance, repair, planning and material support as well as training and consultancy services regarding the use of weapons system and equipment.
