ANKARA

Turkey’s parliament speaker said Thursday that Libya’s planned elections will be a turning point for the country’s future. 

The Libyan nation’s “going to the ballot box without any pressure and the reflection of their free will on the election results will of course be a turning point for the future of Libya,” Mustafa Sentop said during a meeting with the chairman of the Libyan High Council of State Khalid al-Mishri and his delegation in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Sentop said Turkey is closely following developments in Libya towards the establishment of safety, stability and political unity.

Preserving the political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya and the peace and welfare of its nation is Ankara’s priority, he said, expressing pleasure over the elections planned for December.

Al-Mishri, for his part, said the two nations have historical ties and highlighted the fraternal relations between their countries.

He thanked Ankara for its support and said: “If Turkey had not sided with Libya, we would have been talking about mass murders and graves in Tripoli, not about the elections.”

He said the Libyan nation desires for the continuation of Turkey’s support to their country.

Libya has recently witnessed positive developments following a breakthrough in which rival parties agreed on Feb. 5 on a unified new executive authority that will govern Libya in the lead-up to national elections on Dec. 24.

Libyans hope the new government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Sena Guler