Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey was set to take control of the Benghazi airport to coordinate humanitarian assistance in Libya as part of a multinational task force under NATO's command, Anadolu News Agency reported..
"We have signed up for three tasks in Libya under NATO's roof. One of them is to run the Benghazi Airport for the coordination of the humanitarian assistance. We will also take part in monitoring of the air space and deploy Turkish naval forces on the corridor between Crete and Benghazi," Erdogan told reporters Monday in Ankara before leaving for Iraq on a formal visit.
Erdogan said one of the main arguments that Turkey had made was to include international organizations such as the Arab League, the African Union and Organization of the Islamic Conference into the multinational effort to secure a peaceful transition in Libya in meeting the legitimate needs of the Libyan people.
"Turkey will never be a country that would fire on and bomb conflicting sides in Libya," Erdogan said.
Responding to a question over recent political unrest in Syria, Erdogan said Turkey closely monitored developments in its southern neighbor.
"I have made two phone calls with President Asad in the last three days and I have sent our top intelligence official to Syria. I have called for a reformist approach in the face of the Syrian people's demands to ensure a peaceful end to the problem," Erdogan said.