Turkey threatens to 'teach lesson' to Libya's Haftar
Erdogan said on Tuesday he would "teach a lesson" to Khalifa Haftar if he resumed fighting in Libya.
ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he would "teach a lesson" to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar if he resumed fighting after abandoning ceasefire talks in Moscow.
Haftar left Moscow on Tuesday without signing a peace deal aimed at ending a nine-month offensive against the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
"We will not hesitate to teach a deserved lesson to the putschist Haftar if he continues his attacks on the country s legitimate administration and our brothers in Libya," Erdogan told a meeting of his party in Ankara in a televised speech.
He said the issue would now be discussed at talks in Berlin on Sunday attended by European, North African and Middle Eastern countries, as well as the UN, EU, Africa Union and Arab League.
The head of the Tripoli government, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.
His government said on Facebook he held talks with US Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield, underlining the need to "resume the process for a political settlement".
Turkey, which approved the deployment of troops to support Sarraj s government earlier this month, praised his "constructive" role in the Moscow talks on Monday.
"The putschist Haftar did not sign the ceasefire. He first said yes, but later unfortunately he left Moscow, he fled Moscow," Erdogan said.
"Despite this, we find the talks in Moscow were positive as they showed the true face of the putschist Haftar to the international community."
