Sky News Reveales Details of MoU Between Turkey, Libya

As ground battles continue between the National Army in Libya forces and the militias supporting Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli, a report from Sky News Arabia revealed the items of the MOU, which Turkey recently signed with Al-Wefaq government led by Fayez Al-Sarraj.

The document obtained by Sky News Arabia showed the areas of security and military cooperation between the two sides, as it includes exchanging experiences, training and planning support and equipment from the Turkish side to its Libyan counterpart, in addition to participating in military exercises.

The two sides decided to grant, exchange and allocate military services as well as logistical cooperation, in addition to exchanging munitions, weapons systems and military mechanisms.

The Turkish government and the government of Tripoli can also cooperate by exchanging experts and establishing contacts between security and military institutions, as well as participating in military exercises, including live ammunition exercises.

With regard to intelligence, the two sides commit to cooperate to counter national security threats, combat global terrorism and illegal immigration, and combat weapons of mass destruction.

The signatories also agreed on the memo not to pulge, transfer or share confidential information and materials to a third party "without prior written approval."

The agreement indicated that "this memorandum should not be used against the interests, territorial integrity and security of other countries," according to the text of the document, which appears to be inconsistent with actual developments.

"Any disputes over this memorandum are resolved directly between the two parties through consultation and negotiation, and not referred to any national or international court," the document added.

The memorandum will remain in effect for 3 years from the date of its entry into force, and it might be automatically extended for one year, unless one of the parties expresses its desire to terminate it.

Hours ago, Ankara had referred the MOU to parliament and said it included provisions to launch a "rapid reaction force" if Tripoli requested it. It was not clear when the vote would take place in the parliament, which is dominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party.

Meanwhile, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, expressed Doha's readiness to provide any support required by the Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli, in the security and economic fields.

A statement of the Al-Wefaq government yesterday said that the Emir of Qatar confirmed during his meeting with  Al-Sarraj, who is visiting Doha that "Qatar will double the work for Libya to overcome the crisis it is going through, expressing readiness to provide any support requested by the government of national reconciliation in the security and economic fields."

The statement added that the Emir of Qatar renewed his country's support for the Al-Wefaq government and Al-Sarraj's efforts to achieve security and stability in Libya.

The statement indicated that the two sides discussed "developments in the political and security situation", as well as the upcoming "Berlin conference on Libya", and the two sides agreed on the necessity to invite all countries concerned with the Libyan affairs to this meeting, without any exclusion.