Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has slammed France's "destructive" approach to the conflict in Libya and accused it of seeking to increase Russian presence there.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday that NATO sees Russia as a threat on the hand, but NATO-ally France is trying to increase Russia's presence in Libya on the other.

He added that even though Turkey appears to be on opposite sides with Russia, it is working not to worsen the situation, but to achieve a ceasefire.

"France, which Macron governs or rather which he can't manage to govern at the moment, has been in Libya only for its own interests and ambitions with a destructive approach just like it pushed Africa to instability in the past with a colonialist approach, and like it bombed and quit Libya in 2011." Cavusoglu explained.

He indicated that "France supported a putschist, a pirate named Khalifa Khaftar" in opposition to UN Security Council decisions.

He said that French President Emmanuel Macron knows that his criticism of Turkey will benefit his Interior policies, adding that Europe and the international community know that Turkey's support for the GNA balanced the situation in Libya and stopped the war from becoming a street fight.

"Most European countries are upset about the French support for Haftar, yet they don't say it because they want to receive their share of the EU Coronavirus assistance." Cavusoglu added.