Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (second right), Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (first left), French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (second left) and Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides attend a press conference in Cairo, Egypt.

FMs of Egypt, France, Greece, Cyprus say Turkey’s security deals with Libyan gov’t “invalid”

CAIRO (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Greece and Cyprus described as “invalid” the two deals signed between Turkey and Libya’s UN-backed government on maritime boundaries delimitation and security, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The four foreign ministers met in Cairo on Wednesday and agreed in a concluding statement that the Turkish deals signed in November with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Serraj violate relevant UN Security Council resolutions and contradict the international law.
“The ministers asserted that those two memorandums of understanding have further undermined regional stability,” said the statement.
On Jan. 2, 2020, the Turkish parliament approved a motion authorising the government to deploy Turkish troops in Libya, which was considered by several states as Turkish intervention in Libyan domestic affairs.
“The ministers stressed that a comprehensive political solution is the only way out of the Libyan crisis and to restore stability in Libya,” the statement added.
Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The Libyan conflict escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments, the UN-recognised GNA and a government in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.

(Latest Update January 2, 2019