Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of the transitional government in Libya for lunch on Monday at the Çankaya Palace in Ankara. The two prime ministers met for the first time since the transitional government was formed, indicating Turkey's strong support for the UN-brokered unified government. Prime ministry officials indicated that the two leaders discussed concrete ways to increase stability, fight terrorism and provide support for the Libyan people, including institution-building in the war-torn country.
Libya has been plagued by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Since then, rival militias have frequently locked horns, bringing violence to Libya's main cities and hampering efforts supported by Turkey to end violence in the country. Last October, Turkey's special envoy for Libya, former deputy Prime Minister Emrullah İşler, visited Libya – as he has several times since the civil war started – urging the two sides to overcome the crisis through national dialogue and deliberation.
Turkey has continued to provide humanitarian support to the country. Last week, a group of Libyans who were injured in an attack against the Police Training Centre in Zliten were brought to Istanbul for treatment. The victims were transported by planes allocated by Turkey in coordination with the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Another group of wounded Libyans arrived in Turkey and is still being treated at different hospitals. According to the Turkish minister of foreign affairs, this close solidarity is another clear indication that Turkey will stand by the Libyan people throughout this difficult period.
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