UAE: We will respond to Turkey’s illegal intervention in Libya

ABU DHABI — Several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, have expressed their concerns over Turkish ambitions in Libya, calling the move by Ankara to increase its influence in the country an illegal interference in the affairs of Arab countries. Turkish moves in Libya have received condemnation from other regional and international actors like Egypt, Russia, Greece, and a number of European countries, including France, which are NATO allies of Turkey.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar threatened to hold the UAE accountable, saying that Abu Dhabi was committing acts that harmed Turkey’s interests in Libya and Syria and accused it of supporting anti-Turkish terrorist organizations.

The UAE responded to Akar’s remarks, calling on his administration to stop interfering in Arab affairs and to abandon its colonial illusions.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, explained that Turkey’s current logic belongs to a past age and that modern relations are not managed by threats.

Gargash said that the provocative statement of the Turkish Defense Minister is a new low for Turkish diplomacy, pointing out that it is more appropriate for Turkey to stop its interference in Arab affairs.