Thaindian News

Istanbul, March 14 (IANS) The Turkish government Monday objected to the idea of military intervention by NATO forces in Libya, stating that such an action would not help in finding a solution in that country.

Speaking at a two-day Leaders of Change Summit in Istanbul Convention Center, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We see that outside intervention, particularly military intervention, doesn’t solve the problem. To the contrary, it deepens it.”

“NATO intervention to Libya or any other country will be ineffective. Beyond ineffective, it might be dangerous,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

The Turkish prime minister criticised Western powers for their misguided views on the Middle East and dismissed any aggressive intervention to be taken in Libya.

Erdogan said the world must do whatever is possible to end the violence in Libya, but that it was important for the Libyan people to find their own path.

Turkey did not intervene on the internal affairs of any country, he said.

“We have no desire to control change, we just provide direction when needed,” said Erdogan.

“Tunisia is for the Tunisians, Egypt for the Egyptians, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen the same. Every country has conditions unique to itself, change is different for every country,” he said.

The summit, organised by Turkish Future Research Foundation and Istanbul University, will also host former US vice president Al Gore and former UN chief Kofi Annan Tuesday.