Azernews.Az

TRIPOLI – Turkey strongly urged Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to cede power and leave the country while defining the self-proclaimed Benghazi authority as its only counterpart in Libya, in a clear change of position since the beginning of crisis, Hurriyet reported.

"A new term has begun in Libya’s history. The words are over in the Libyan issue. What needs to be done at this point is that the Libyan leader pulls out from Libya and cedes power immediately," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters at a press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday. "Muammar Gadhafi should take this historic step for Libya’s territorial integrity and peace."

Erdoğan’s statement came a day after Turkey closed its embassy in Tripoli due to growing insecurity in the Libyan capital following the killing of Gadhafi’s son and his three grandchildren. The closure of the embassy was followed by Erdoğan’s statement on Tuesday that burned the bridges with Gadhafi’s regime. Under current conditions, Turkey’s single diplomatic representation is in Benghazi, under the authority of the Libyan National Congress.

Diplomatic sources dismissed claims that the move meant recognizing the Benghazi authority. "We have already displayed our stance that we take them as a counterpart," sources stated. Italy and France have already recognized the congress as their official interlocutor.

Recalling that messages dispatched by Turkey were ignored by Gadhafi who preferred blood, tears, pressure and attacks on his own people instead of paying attention to advices and avoiding bloodshed, Erdoğan said: "Under current conditions, the best way is to return power to its genuine owners, the Libyan people. Libya is not the property of a single man or one family."

Erdoğan signaled that security could be provided to Gadhafi in a host country if he would take "this historic step." "The grief of losing a child and grandchildren is most painful. We know Gadhafi is suffering this pain. We want to remind him that it is inevitable for him to take this step for Libyan people not to suffer the same pains," he stated.

Describing the period in which Libya is passing through as "very difficult", Erdoğan said Turkey would continue to contribute to the Libyan people.

Another important message Erdoğan gave in his statement was that Turkey would continue to work closely with the Libyan National Congress for the implementation of its road map for the solution of the Libyan crisis.

Appealing to the Libyan opposition, Erdoğan said: "It is vital that your struggle, your suffering result in an outcome that would embrace the whole Libyan people."

The road map Turkey announced in early April includes reaching a real truce, establishing secure zones and corridors to distribute humanitarian aid to Libyans and starting a political dialogue to kick start a democratic transformation process. However it fell short in satisfying the opposition groups as it did not explicitly call for Gadhafi to leave.

Erdoğan said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu would join the Libya Contact Group meeting that will be held Wednesday in Rome and inform Turkey’s partners on the developments.

Describing Turkey’s stance vis-a-vis Libya as "humanitarian," Erdoğan said they were perfectly aware that some countries launched a smear campaign against Turkey that caused a misperception of the Turkish role among the rebels. "A kind of campaign was launched against Turkey in Libya which aimed at causing indignation among the dissidents though misinformation on Turkey’s policies," Erdoğan said. "However, Turkey did not lose its cool-headedness and continued to follow a stable and consistent policy."

The country Erdoğan described is France though he did not name it in his press conference. Turkey and France emerged as sparring partners within NATO when the alliance discussed how to conduct military operations against Libya.

A group of rebels protested Turkey’s consulate in Benghazi last month due to Ankara’s insistence in keeping channels open with Gadhafi. Turkey shifted its position after the NATO summit in mid-April and intensified talks with self-proclaimed Benghazi authority.

Erdoğan’s press conference also sent messages to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "Hereby, I want to take the advantage of repeating our warnings to all countries in our neighborhood alongside with Libya. Equality, freedom, justice and democracy are not rights of certain countries and nations but these are legitimate rights of all humanity.

"Delaying, ignoring and denying these fundamental human rights only reflect suppression and despotism and not justice," he said.

In an emphasis on the changes in the world order, Erdoğan said it was unsustainable for leaderships to continue imposing oppression against own people seeking democracy. "We do not want new [massacres of] Halapja, Hama and Humus and Bosnia."