TURKEY FUNDING LIBYAN REBELS
ARMENPRESS
August 25, 2011
YEREVAN
Armenpress reports, citing CNN that the cash-starved Libyan rebel
government received emergency money in the final weeks before
their advance into Tripoli — a $100 million cash donation from the
government of Turkey.
During a hastily-arranged trip to the Libyan rebel capital of
Benghazi this week, Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the
Transitional National Council chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil revealed
that starting in July, the Turks began rushing a total of $300 million
to the rebels.
“The first 100 million is a cash donation,” said Turkish foreign
ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal. “The second 100 million is credit
donation. … The third 100 million is a credit loan.”
“The cash they are using (is) for salaries and buying food,” Unal
added.
On Thursday, diplomats will converge in Istanbul for a meeting of
the Libya Contact Group, a coalition of Arab and European governments.
Representatives from the United States and Turkey will also attend.
Many of these governments threw their weight behind the Libyan rebels
by freezing the assets of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s government
and pledging military and financial support to the council in Benghazi.
“The group will discuss the next steps to be taken at the political
level,” said Unal. “It will be no surprise if they also discuss the
financial aspect of the crisis.”