Libya's government accepts Turkey's offer for military support

The Government of National Accord (GNA) on Thursday began working towards implementing a security accord reached with Turkey in November, Al Jazeera's Mahmoud Abdelwahed reported.

"We are getting news from sources with the GNA in Tripoli after a very important meeting between government officials and military commanders ... involved with defending the capital from Haftar's forces," Abdelwahed said.

"They say they are now putting in action the memorandum of understanding that was sealed between the UN-recognised Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to entail military and security cooperation."

The closed-door meeting, which was not on Erdogan's official agenda, took place in Istanbul's Ottoman-era Dolmabahce Palace, the Turkish presidency said, without giving details.

During the previous meeting between the two men, in Istanbul on 27 November, the two countries agreed a deal on security and military cooperation, as well as maritime jurisdiction.

The deal came despite calls from the Arab League - which includes Libya - to end cooperation with Turkey in protest at its military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria.

Read more: Turkish-Libyan alliance in eastern Mediterranean: A game changer?

Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE back Khalifa Haftar, a military strongman in eastern Libya who launched an offensive in April in a bid to seize Tripoli from fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) of which Sarraj is the prime minister.

Turkey and Qatar openly support the UN-recognised GNA.

The November military deal was introduced in the Turkish parliament on Saturday.

The maritime part of the deal expands Turkey's continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is particularly important given the recent discovery of vast gas reserves that has triggered an exploration scramble between adjacent states and international oil companies.

The Turkey-Libya agreement was strongly condemned by several countries, including Greece and Cyprus.

Erdogan declared on Tuesday that Turkey is prepared to send troops into Libya if requested.

When asked about sending troops during a television interview late Sunday, he said that "Turkey alone will decide what initiative to take".

"I have already said that we were ready to provide all sorts of help to Libya," Erdogan added.

Read more: 'I will sink your ships myself': Haftar's navy commander threatens Erdogan

In another sign of the Turkey-Libya rapprochement, Ankara announced on Saturday that Libyans younger than 16 or older than 55 would be allowed to enter Turkey without visas.

Strongman Haftar last week announced a "decisive battle" to wrest Tripoli from the GNA government.

GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha responded by saying his government was ready "to push back any mad attempt by the Haftar putsch leader".

Follow us Twitter and Instagram to stay connected