ANKARA - resident Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Europe it could face new threats from "terrorist" groups if Libya's United Nations-recognised government in Tripoli were to fall, in an article published in Politico.
In the article released on Saturday, the eve of a Libya peace conference in Berlin, Erdogan said the European Union's failure to adequately support the Government of National Accord (GNA) would be "a betrayal of its own core values, including democracy and human rights".
"Europe will encounter a fresh set of problems and threats if Libya's legitimate government were to fall," Erdogan wrote.
"Terrorist organisations such as ISIS [ISIL] and al-Qaeda, which suffered a military defeat in Syria and Iraq, will find a fertile ground to get back on their feet," he added.
A furious Erdogan warned on Tuesday that Turkey will not refrain from "teaching a lesson" to Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) forces if their attacks against the GNA continue.
Both the LNA and GNA conditionally agreed to a truce brokered by Turkey and Russia last week, however, new fighting has been reported. (Aljazeera)