On Tuesday, the former EU Ambassador to Turkey and Libya, Marc Pierini, stated that Ankara’s deployment of mercenaries to Libya aims to end the deployment of extremists in northern Syria.
A media source quoted Pierini as saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to send thousands of mercenaries to Libya aims to empty northern Syria of extremists, especially those who oppose Ankara’s policies in the country.
He added that it is worrying that those extremists may attempt to cross into Europe, posing a real threat to the EU.
“France’s growing spat with Turkey over the Libyan civil war has exposed cracks in the NATO military alliance. This raises questions over what Paris is seeking to achieve in the region”, he noted.
Last week, France suspended its involvement in a NATO mission off Libya’s coast amid what it claimed was hostile behaviour by Turkish warships.
Florence Parly, France’s defence minister, addressed the EU Parliament claiming Turkey’s actions were “unworthy of a NATO ally”.