rance is suspending its involvement in a NATO naval operation of Libya's coast after a standoff with a Turkish ship and amid growing tensions within the military alliance over Libya. France is also calling for crisis mechanism to prevent a repeat of an incident earlier this month between Turkish warships and the French naval vessel Courbet in the Mediterranean. France said it was acting on intelligence from NATO that the civilian ship could be involved in trafficking arms to Libya. Despite concerns about its direction and close ties with Russia — NATO’s historic rival — Turkey can't be ejected from the military organization. At the heart of the France-Turkey quarrel is the question of whether NATO allies should respect the U.N. arms embargo for Libya.

Source: Libya Today July 05, 2020 06:45 UTC