Greece, Israel and Cyprus call Turkey’s planned Libya deployment ‘dangerous escalation’

Turkey's bill allowing troop deployment in Libya marks a dangerous escalation in the North African country's civil war and severely threatens stability in the region, a joint statement by Greece, Israel and Cyprus said late on Thursday.

"This decision constitutes a gross violation of the UNSC resolution...imposing an arms embargo in Libya and seriously undermines the international community's efforts to find a peaceful, political solution to the Libyan conflict," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said in the statement.

Turkish parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill that allows troops to be deployed in Libya, in a move that paves the way for further military cooperation between Ankara and Tripoli but is unlikely to put boots on the ground immediately.

Turkey's move...