Turkey to display solidarity with Libya during Ramadan

Davutoğlu was speaking at a joint press conference following talks with Mahmoud Jibril, leader of the NTC. The meeting took place shortly after Turkey recognized the rebel council battling Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. The talks were meant to prepare the ground for a meeting of the so-called Libya Contact Group, scheduled for July 15 and 16 in İstanbul.

The group includes all countries participating in the NATO-led campaign targeting the Libyan government and includes other major regional players. On Sunday, during a visit to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the stronghold of the rebels who launched an uprising against Gaddafi in February, Davutoğlu announced that the Turkish government will provide another $200 million to the NTC, in addition to a $100 million fund announced earlier.

Turkey is ready to contribute in the medium and long terms toward the reconstruction of the Libyan state -- particularly the reconstruction of ministries and institutions -- Davutoğlu said on Wednesday.

He and Jibril agreed on launching joint activities to coincide with the impending Muslim holy month of Ramadan in order to display solidarity between Turkey and Libya. Davutoğlu also expressed hope that the coming days would be the start of a much brighter future for Libya.

“In good days and in bad days, but God willing always in good days, we have been together with the Libyan people and we will continue to do so,” Davutoğlu said and addressed Jibril in Arabic, saying, “Our house is your house.”

The $100 million is not a loan but humanitarian assistance, Davutoğlu said in response to a question concerning details of the contributions that will be made to Libya. “$40 million of this assistance has already been spent in various areas,” he added.

“Libya is not a poor country,” he said, adding that the international community would discuss steps to be taken on the issue of Libya’s frozen financial assets during an upcoming International Contact Group’s meeting on Libya slated to take place in July in Turkey.

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US welcomes Turkey’s recognition of Libyan opposition

The US government has welcomed Turkey’s recognition of Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC) as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people, a spokesperson for the US State Department has said.

“[…] we very much welcome the step that the Turkish government has taken, including its provision of aid to the Transitional National Council [TNC],” Victoria Nuland said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday.

Nuland also said that the United States considered the TNC as “the legitimate and credible interlocutor for the Libyan people and we [the US] are working very closely with them [the TNC] on the full range of issues associated with the transition.” During a visit to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi on Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu declared that the Turkish government recognizes the TNC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Davutoğlu also announced that Turkey had pledged an additional $200 million worth of support to a previous $100 million that the country donated in June. Some of the money is to be used to improve the infrastructure of Benghazi and renovate its airport. In Ankara on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone expressed delight over the actions Turkey has carried out regarding Libya, noting that Turkey has been dealing intensely with a lot of peace and security issues in the region. His remarks to reporters came during a reception he hosted at the embassy residence to mark the 235th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America. Davutoğlu also attended the reception.

Underlining that Davutoğlu is a very active and successful foreign minister, Ricciardone said he was looking forward to hearing from Davutoğlu the details of his visit to Benghazi. Ankara Today’s Zaman