The recent agreement between Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli was discussed on Saturday between the Speaker of Libya’s House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh and Cyprus House Speaker Dimitris Syllouris in Nicosia.

Saleh arrived to the island on Friday and also met on Saturday with Cyprus' Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides.

In a joint statement following their talks at the Cyprus Parliament Syllouris and Saleh pointed out that the agreement Turkey signed with the GNA is a violation of the international law and has no legal basis since it disregards the UN Law of the Sea provisions. Moreover, they said, the agreement has not been ratified by the House of Representatives in Libya.
 
Syllouris and Saleh said that Turkey’s actions escalate the tension and the stability in the broader Mediterranean region. Moreover the two Speakers confirmed the validity of the elected Libyan House of Representatives.
 
In the joint statement issued after the meeting which lasted an hour, Syllouris and Saleh said that their discussions focused on issues of mutual interest. The two men reaffirmed the traditionally good relations between the two countries and the friendship of the two peoples.

They also pledged support to the international law, the Law of the Sea and the mission of the United Nations Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) in Libya.

The Cypriot and Libyan officials also underlined the need to tackle terrorism in Libya, noting that this will safeguard the security and stability. Moreover they described Turkey’s plan to send troops on the ground as unacceptable.
 
In statements that followed the meeting, Saleh said that he asked for Cyprus’ support and cooperation so that the EU becomes aware of the situation in the country as the political agreement has not been implemented.  He also said that they agreed with Syllouris to set up a committee for communication between the two Parliaments and added that there will be an exchange between businessmen of the two countries.
 
Syllouris described the meeting as a substantial one and spoke of a closer cooperation between the two countries that is in favor of peace and prosperity in the region.

CNA