Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a clear call on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to leave power immediately, saying he had turned a blind eye to Turkey's advice to stop bloodshed and appoint a new political leader to peacefully end an uprising against his rule.
“Gaddafi preferred to shed blood instead of heeding our calls,” Erdoğan said in a televised press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “We are done talking in Libya. We want him to leave power for a better future for his country.”
Erdoğan's remarks came a day after Turkey closed its embassy in Tripoli over security concerns. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said this is a temporary measure.
The Turkish government has worked for a political solution in Libya, where Gaddafi faces an uprising against his 41-year rule. It has released a three-point roadmap for a political settlement, but Erdoğan's latest remarks appear to suggest that the government has given up on efforts to bring this plan to life through dialogue with both rebels and the Gaddafi side.
Erdoğan said Turkey would continue dialogue with the rebels as well as with the international community while seeking to implement the roadmap.