Turkey has leased for 99 years the port of Al-Khums in the northwest of Libya, where it will place a military base, TGRT TV reported, citing sources.
It is claimed that such a step will strengthen Turkey's sovereignty in the Eastern Mediterranean, strengthen control over Turkish territorial waters and ensure the safety of merchant ships.
A military base to be established in the region is reportedly planned to house Turkish combat drones and air defense systems.
In November 2019, the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) and Turkish authorities signed a memorandum of understanding to delimit maritime zones between the two countries. On October 3 last year, the GNU signed two new MoUs with Turkey in the oil and gas sector, one of the documents deals with joint exploration activities among others.
The head of Libya's House of Representatives (parliament), Aguila Saleh, called the signed documents invalid on the same day and sent a message to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asking him not to recognize these MoUs between the GNU and Ankara. Egypt and Greece opposed the agreements.
Libya currently has effectively two cabinets of ministers: one in the east led by Fathi Bashaga, who is backed by parliament, and the GNU, headquartered in Tripoli. On June 22 last year, the transitional period established by the UN following the Geneva agreements expired, by the end of which Libya was supposed to have an elected president and parliament. However, elections scheduled for December 2021 were canceled and no date has yet been set.
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Based on materials from TASS