Turkey’s Foreign Ministry criticized a European Union decision against a Turkish firm accused of violating the UN arms embargo on Libya.
The Turkish MoFA said in a statement that the decision showed the EU’s double standards, and biased stance against Ankara.
On Monday the EU accused the Turkish company, Avrasya Shipping, of smuggling weapons to Libya. Ankara denies the arms-trafficking claim, and says the ship was carrying humanitarian aid. The EU has decided to freeze the company’s assets.
Turkey supports the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), while Russia backs the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The GNA controls the capital Tripoli and western Libya. The LNA controls the eastern and southern areas of the country.
The EU simultaneously imposed sanctions on two other companies – Kazakhstan’s Sigma Airlines, and Jordan’s Med Wave Shipping, for violating the arms embargo. Under the sanctions, the companies will be blacklisted, and their assets in the European Union will be frozen.