Trump and Erdogan discuss developments in Syria and Libya

WASHINGTON; ANKARA – U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest developments in Syria and Libya on phone yesterday.

The two presidents discussed the urgent need to stop foreign interference in Libya and to maintain the ceasefire agreement. According to a tweet by the White House Spokesperson, Judy Derry, the two presidents agreed that it was necessary to stop the violence taking place in Idlib, Syria.

Witnesses reported that the military campaign launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to regain control of the areas occupied by the opposition groups loyal to Turkey in the northwest of Syria, has led to the displacement of tens of thousands civilians to the Turkish border on Monday.

In Libya, local officials and residents reported that Libyan National Army commander, Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, moved his forces on Sunday towards the city of Misrata, which is part of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord.

Whereas, the military escalation came a week after Turkey, which supports the government in Tripoli, UAE, Egypt, and Russia, which support Khalifa Haftar, agreed with Western powers to hold a summit in Berlin, to reach a final cease-fire and the lift the siege.