TURKEY: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says his government is working on a 'roadmap' to end the war in Libya

Record ID: 217326

  • Title: TURKEY: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says his government is working on a 'roadmap' to end the war in Libya
  • Date: 8th April 2011
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (APRIL 07, 2011) (REUTERS) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN ARRIVING FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING: "An actual ceasefire should be secured right away, and pro-Gaddafi forces should withdraw from the cities they are besieging in some Libyan provinces. Uninterrupted hu
  • Embargoed: 23rd April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Reuters ID: LVAEQM4D42LH6H9M79IPKBTF5J8J
  • Story Text: Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday (April 7) Turkey was working on a "roadmap" to end the war in Libya which would include a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Muammar Gaddafi's forces from some cities.
    Turkey has held talks this week with envoys from Gaddafi's government and representatives of the opposition.
    "We are working on the details of this road map in order to reach an actual ceasefire and unveil a period of political transition in Libya. We will continue to be in touch with Libyan sides to liaise on this road map in detail," Erdogan told a news conference.
    It was not immediately clear if the two Libyan sides were discussing the terms of such a roadmap.
    Erdogan said details would be made public before a meeting in the Qatari capital Doha next week of an international contact group set up to coordinate a political response to the Libya crisis.
    He also stressed the road map called for pro-Gaddafi forces to withdraw from cities and end their siege, the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors and for legal changes with the aim of setting up a constitutional democracy.
    "An actual ceasefire should be secured right away, and pro-Gaddafi forces should withdraw from the cities they are besieging in some Libyan provinces. Uninterrupted humanitarian aid should be provided to all Libyan brothers, without any discrimination and safe humanitarian corridors should be established for this purpose," Erdogan said.
    "An inclusive process for democratic change should be launched immediately, taking the legitimate interests of Libyan people into consideration. The purpose of this process should be to secure constitutional democracy order in which people will choose their own leaders with their free will," he added.
    A month ago, Erdogan suggested Gaddafi hand over power to an elected leader or authority. Those efforts came to nothing when Gaddafi responded defiantly to a U.N. resolution saying he should be investigated by the International Criminal Court.
    Turkey, the main Muslim member of the NATO alliance, is enjoying growing influence in the Middle East. Besides having sizeable commercial and trading interests, Turkey has strong historical ties with Libya, which was part of the Ottoman Empire before World War One.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register