CAIRO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Ministry held a meeting with U.S. and European ambassadors in Cairo to explain its rejection of the Turkish plan to send troops to war-torn, neighboring Libya, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
During the meeting, Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister Motaz Zahran and other diplomats stressed concerns over the recent approval of the Turkish parliament to send Turkish military forces to Libya, the statement said.
"The Turkish parliament's move is an explicit violation of the international legitimacy decisions and the UN Security Council resolutions concerning Libya," said the Egyptian foreign ministry.
It noted that UN Resolution 1970 (2011) prohibits sending arms or cooperating militarily with Libya without the approval of the relevant UN sanction committee.
Egypt also warned against the consequences of any foreign military intervention in Libya, saying it would undermine "the course of comprehensive settlement in Libya and the stability of the Mediterranean region."
It called on the international community to bear its responsibilities in confronting such negative developments that foreshadow regional escalation, according to the Egyptian statement.
On Thursday, the Turkish parliament approved a motion authorizing the government to deploy Turkish troops in Libya.
Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The Libyan conflict escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital Tripoli and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.
While Egypt supports Haftar's LNA that seeks to take over Tripoli, Turkey backs the Tripoli-based GNA.
