No plan in region can succeed without Turkey: VP Oktay
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Wednesday said in the exclusive comments to Turkey's state-run new agency: "No matter who is involved, no plan in the region which excludes Turkey has any chance of success."
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 02:23 | 01 January 2020
- Modified Date: 04:31 | 01 January 2020
No plan in the region which excludes Turkey has any chance of success, said Turkey's vice president on Wednesday.
"Turkey's economy was balanced and disciplined in 2019, and now 2020 will see the start of new revival," Fuat Oktay told Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk.
On Turkey's pact with Libya last November demarcating maritime boundaries, he said it had foiled a plot to confine Turkey to land.
"No matter who is involved, no plan in the region which excludes Turkey has any chance of success," he stressed.
Saying that Turkey is very active in the area designated in the deal with Libya, he said the deal is also beneficial for the region.
Speaking on the security motion with Libya, which will face a vote in parliament on Thursday, Oktay said that motion authorizing deployment of Turkish troops to Libya will last for one year, so troops can be sent whenever needed.
"We hope that there is no need for such an invitation, it will have a deterrent role and the parties will understand this message correctly," he stressed, referring to Libya's legitimate administration's help request from Turkey.
On Nov. 27, Ankara and Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two separate pacts: one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.
Reiterating Turkey's successful steps in the country's defense industry, Oktay said that Turkey will produce warplanes, including unmanned models and one like the F-35.
In July 2019, Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 defense systems prompted the Trump administration to suspend Turkey from the F-35 program. The U.S. claims the system would be a security risk and is incompatible with NATO systems.
Turkey, however, counters that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.