Turkey seeks to have a strong presence in Libya to preserve its economic and geopolitical interests, but it faces competition from countries such as Egypt, which supports the commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, while data indicates the rental of a military base for the Turkish army in the port of Al-Khoms, in controversy over Turkish influence despite the denials of the National Unity Government. Led by Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, these data were considered an innocent attempt to raise tensions with the escalation of internal and international rejection of the presence of foreign forces and mercenaries.
Russian writer Polina Peker, in an article for the Russian newspaper “Vzglyad” under the title “Turkey takes control of Gaddafi’s legacy,” referred to what she described as signals about Turkish expansion in the Mediterranean region.
Turkey has strengthened its presence in Libya in recent years by supporting the Government of National Accord militarily against the Libyan National Army and then supporting the National Unity Government against the parallel government supported by Parliament.
Ankara achieved many ambitions in Libya by signing a memorandum of understanding to exploit Libyan oil during the period of the Government of National Accord in exchange for supporting militias in the West, confirming this trend with another memorandum of understanding in the National Unity Government, which upset the Egyptian side at a certain stage.
Turkey transferred Syrian mercenaries and intelligence officers to support the militias, and Turkish marches also participated in launching attacks on Libyan army positions, but the geopolitical reality is always changing.
Turkey refuses to abide by the UN resolutions regarding the necessity of the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces from Libyan territory in order to advance the path of political settlement to reach elections.
The Russian writer rules out the possibility of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeding in completely controlling the Libyan situation in light of the financial crisis Ankara is going through, noting that any plan of this size needs strong financial support.
The author believes that any future understanding between Egypt and Turkey in Libya, based on the political rapprochement between the two countries, will open the way for Ankara to completely dominate the western region.
It says that Turkey cannot fully control the Libyan situation without a green light from Egypt and support from Russia, which in turn faces Western pressure after the Ukrainian war.
Russia can play the role of mediator between Turkey and Egypt, noting that in all Turkish-Egyptian conflicts in Libya, Russia was able to find a compromise between the warring parties.
Russia can bring about a rapprochement between Ankara and Haftar, given its close relations with him, in addition to the rumored rapprochement between the commander of the Libyan army and the head of the unity government, but that remains unlikely currently amid demands for the departure of Turkish forces, which are mainly embraced by the Libyan National Army and the forces supporting it.
Source: Ahvalnews
