Turkey plans a re-intervention to political prominence in Libya
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed that a delegation from the Turkish Parliament will visit the eastern region and meet with the House of Representatives, and then visit Tripoli in the coming period, amidst the escalation of Qatari movements in parallel to play an important role in the Libyan file, which raises the question: Will the movements between Doha and Ankara on the Libyan arena establish a state of competition or integration?
Supporting Dbeibeh
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a meeting with diplomatic correspondents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara on Wednesday that Turkey is trying to establish good relations with all Libyan parties, following rumors about the support of the Turkish authorities for the head of the national unity government led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah at the expense of the government of Fathi Bashagha, who is supported by the parliament. Sources said last week that Fathi Bashagha left a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of Intelligence Hakan Fidan in Ankara, after he was warned of the consequences of entering the capital Tripoli by force.
Attitude change
Despite the Turkish authorities’ support for the tanks, Ankara does not want to lose its relations with the government of Bashagha, which is also supported by the parliament. Therefore, it decided to send a parliamentary delegation to the eastern region before heading to the Libyan capital, apparently in an attempt to mediate between the two sides. The Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, visited Ankara at the beginning of last month, during which he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an apparent change of Saleh’s positions on the Turkish intervention; “He had repeatedly criticized Ankara’s support for mercenaries and militias during the war between the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj and the Libyan National Army forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, but his position changed following the political developments in Libya over the past two years.”
It appears that Aguila Saleh changed his destination to Qatar; During a visit to Doha earlier this week, he met with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and thanked the Qatari efforts to support stability in Libya. He even praised the efforts of Sheikh Tamim. Observers believe that the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives sought to win the support of the Qatari side to host a Libyan-Libyan dialog with the consent and support of the Arab world, thus blocking the path to the settlement sought by Turkey and playing a key role in the reconciliation process between the Government of national unity and the Government of Bashagha.
Turkey plan
Observers confirmed that Turkey, due to its relations with political Islamist groups and militias, as well as the presence of mercenaries and forces affiliated with it in Libya, wants to support a unified government through which it can sign economic agreements that support its hegemony and ambitions, similar to what happened during the rule of Al-Sarraj. Observers believe that Qatar’s entry into the line of mediation between the parties in Libya may obstruct Turkey’s plans to achieve economic benefits and enhance influence, but this does not negate the possibility of some sort of integration between the two sides, especially since Doha and Ankara have strong relations and share support for political Islamist groups not only in Libya but in the region as a whole.
