Egypt intervened to stabilize Libya, Turkey seeks expansionary policies: Shoukry

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:30 A.M.) – On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry expressed his country’s absolute support for all efforts aimed at settling the conflict in Libya, including the Libyan consultations in Morocco.

During a press conference with his Armenian counterpart, Zahrab Mnatsakanyan, Shoukry stated that Egypt supports all efforts aimed at reaching a solution to the crisis in Libya and has no reservations about any Libyan party participating in the political process.

The minister affirmed Egypt’s adherence to finding a Libyan-to-Libyan political solution under the umbrella of the United Nations, stressing the need to ensure the country’s territorial integrity and respect the relevant international resolutions.

Shoukry said that Egypt “intervened to stabilize the military situation in Libya,” noting at the same time that there were “foreign interventions to serve expansionist policies in Libya,” adding that there were “those who bring foreign fighters and terrorist organizations to Libya.”

In this regard, the Egyptian foreign minister directed new criticisms against Turkey, blaming it for pursuing “expansionary and destabilizing policies in the region.”

“The most important thing is the actions, not the statements,” he said, adding: “If the Turkish statements do not coincide with actions, they do not matter.”