Erdogan is making a "provocative" step ahead of the Berlin conference on Libya
Erdogan is participating in the Berlin Summit to discuss the conflict in Libya.
Erdogan's comments come days after the Turkish parliament voted to send Turkish troops to Libya. Before the parliament vote, the Syrian Observatory stated that Turkey had already transferred "mercenaries" from loyal Syrian fighters from Syrian territory to Tripoli.
In this context, Erdogan, who spoke in Ankara, added that his country will continue to use all diplomatic and military means to ensure stability to the south of its territory, including Libya.
According to Erdogan, Turkey will start granting licenses for exploration and drilling in the eastern Mediterranean this year, in line with a maritime agreement concluded with Libya, adding that the Turkish ship Uruguay will start seismic survey activities in the region.
Erdogan is scheduled to meet with leaders of Germany, Russia, Britain and Italy, next Sunday, in Berlin, to discuss the conflict in Libya.
In a related context, the Syrian Observatory continued to follow the process of transporting fighters carried out by Turkey from the Syrian territories to Libya.
According to the observatory, the number of pro-Turkish fighters who have arrived in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to date has increased to about 1750 mercenaries, while the number of recruits who arrived in the Turkish camps to receive training has reached about 1500.
The observatory stated that mercenary recruitment operations continue to be significant, both in Afrin and the Euphrates Shield areas.
The Syrian Observatory also monitored the killing of at least 5 mercenaries from the pro-Turkish "National Army" factions during the battles in Libya, where the bodies of some of them reached the Afrin region northwest of Aleppo, bringing the death toll from the military operations in Libya to 19 fighters from the factions Al-Mu'tasim Brigade, Sultan Murad Brigade, and North Falcons Brigade and Hamzat.
It is noteworthy that mercenary recruitment, use, financing, and training of mercenaries is a crime according to the international agreement issued by the United Nations some 30 years ago.