CAIRO — The Libyan crisis and developments in the eastern Mediterranean brought together the foreign affairs ministers of Egypt, France, Greece, Cyprus and Italy in Cairo, as Egypt seeks international mobilization against a Turkish military intervention in Libya.

In Libya's nine-year civil war, Turkey has supported the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, against the Libyan National Army, led by eastern military commander Khalifa Hifter. The support is related to another deal in which the GNA agreed to delineate boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea. That deal is designed to help Turkey explore for natural gas and oil, to the chagrin of its coastal neighbors.

By the end of their Jan. 8 meeting, four of the five ministers released a statement declaring both agreements void. Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio did not sign the closing statement, calling it "very unfair" to Turkey and Sarraj. Libya was once an Italian colony; Italy considers it an ally and has significant oil investments there. 

The four other ministers affirmed that they will “undertake additional joint efforts to face increasing challenges in the eastern Mediterranean region, at the foremost of which are armed conflict, terrorism and irregular migration.” They emphasized that they oppose the deployment of military troops in Libya, as troops “threaten peace and stability in this region.”