Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop on Tuesday criticized the French president's remarks on Ankara's support for the internationally recognized Libyan government.
"French President Emmanuel Macron's frequent criticism of Turkey is based on irrational claims stemming from colonialism and is far from the new ways of the world," Şentop said on Twitter.
"Furthermore, these remarks harm deep-rooted Turkey-France relations," he added.
After a meeting with Tunisian President Kais Saied in Paris, Macron late Monday criticized Ankara for its support of the Libyan government against putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, backed by France, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.
The Turkish Parliament speaker noted that Turkey's initiative in Libya is based on international law and aims to establish regional peace.
"If Macron gave importance to the peace in Libya that he claims, he should give up sliding the region into chaos by supporting Haftar, he should see that this support remains inconclusive," he said.
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 when a civil war toppled Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
The U.N. recognizes the Libyan government headed by Fayez Sarraj as the country's legitimate authority as Tripoli battles Haftar's militias.
The government launched Operation Peace Storm against Haftar in March to counter the warlord's attacks on the capital Tripoli and recently liberated strategic locations, including Tarhuna, Haftar's final stronghold in western Libya.
