Turkey opposed to NATO military intervention in Libya, says Erdogan
AFP, Monday 14 Mar 2011
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again come out against any NATO military action to support rebels in Libya


Turkey on Monday reiterated its opposition to NATO intervention in Libya, warning it would trigger dangerous consequences.

"Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counter-productive," the Anatolia news agency quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying during an address here at an international forum.

"In addition to being counter-productive, such an operation could have dangerous consequences."

Turkey, a NATO member, has made it clear that the 28-member military alliance can intervene only when one of its members is attacked.

President Abdullah Gul on Monday echoed Erdogan's view, saying: "A direct NATO intervention in Libya is out of the question."

"The people, government and opposition in Libya do not want a foreign force in the country," Anatolia quoted Gul as saying.

The president added that an intervention would require a UN resolution "within the framework of international legitimacy."

During a visit to Germany late last month, Erdogan said a NATO intervention in Libya would be "unthinkable" and "absurd".

He also raised strong objections to imposing sanctions on Libya, saying innocent people would suffer and accusing world powers of making "calculations" over oil.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen meanwhile said early this month that the alliance did not intend to intervene in oil-rich Libya but was planning for "all eventualities".

He has insisted that the UN Security Council would have to approve any military action in Libya, including the enforcement of a no-fly zone.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization appeared divided meanwhile on the usefulness of such a measure as well as the idea -- attributed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- to launch air strikes in Libya.

The organisation decided to reinforce its naval presence in an area near Libya, and assess the humanitarian aid that the United Nations could request.

The no fly-zone issue is to figure prominently as a two-day ministerial session of G8 powers gets under way in Paris.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are taking part.

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