On Tuesday, the regional Spokesman for the US State Department, Samuel Warburg stressed that the US “supports the sovereignty of the Libyan state and believes that any solution in Libya must be between the Libyans themselves.”
In an interview with Al Ahram Online website, the US official said that “it is not possible for the United States, Russia, Turkey, or any other country to impose any solution on the Libyan people.”
“Therefore, the special envoy is in contact with all parties and had some meetings in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly, with dialogue taking place with all parties. We know that some countries in the region have a great interest in the affairs inside Libya,” in reference to Turkey, the US official noted.
He pointed out that “there are challenges, no doubt, and without a government, consensus, or a common vision, this will lead to a vacuum that will, unfortunately, be exploited by militias. Therefore, we are in contact with the Egyptian government because we know that the chaos in Libya will affect our friends in Egypt.”
Last week, Libya and Turkey signed a series of economic agreements that included potential energy exploration in maritime areas.
The agreements will allow for oil and gas exploration in Libyan waters and come three years after the two countries signed a maritime border deal, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said after signing the MoU in Tripoli.
Notably, the Greek Foreign Ministry has said that it is following developments in Libya very closely, “especially Monday’s signing of a ‘memorandum of cooperation between the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) and Turkey in the field of hydrocarbons.
The statement added that Greece “holds sovereign rights in the area, which it intends to defend by all legal means, in full respect to the International Law of the Sea.”
Dendias said earlier that Athens is content to see that the EU, the US, Germany, and Egypt have come out publicly to denounce Turkey’s practices.