The positions of the Arab countries differed from the recent Egyptian initiative towards the Libyan crisis, in a way that reflects the deep difference among them towards the rules of a political solution to end the fighting in this oil country.
It became clear that the countries of the Maghreb region are not on the same wave as some countries in the Arab East, led by Egypt, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
While Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco affirm that they stand at the same distance from all Libyan parties, it is no longer hidden from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia's support for retired Major General Khalifa Hifter.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi recently announced the cease-fire initiative in Libya, in the presence of Haftar, whose forces face successive defeats on the fronts of the fighting.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, along with Russia and some European countries, welcomed the Cairo declaration, while the legitimate Libyan government ignored it, Turkey rejected it and the United States distanced itself from it.
Financial and military support
The UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are all accused of supporting Haftar's militias in the face of the internationally recognized Libyan government.
A report of the United Nations Security Council issued at the end of last May documented the amount of financial and military support provided by the UAE to Haftar since 2014.
The weapons that Abu Dhabi paid for and sent to Libya include: Russian Panther-S1 air defense systems at $ 14.7 million, $ 15 million Super Puma helicopters purchased from South Africa, and Emirati-made armed drones Yaphon worth $ 25 million, and Russian armed Orlan drones worth $ 100,000.
The UAE provides foreign mercenaries and pays their salaries to fight with Haftar ranks, among them hundreds of Russian mercenaries, Sudanese Janjaweed militias and Chadian rebels.
Reject and ignore
In the Maghreb, the latest Egyptian initiative was met with rejection and neglect from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry stuck to the Skhirat agreement signed in 2015, known as the Political Agreement, as the sole reference for the solution in Libya.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry said earlier that the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, assured his Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Siala, that the political agreement signed with Moroccan Skhirat is the main reference for any political solution in Libya.
For its part, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry renewed its "firm and supportive stances of the Libyan people and the institutions of its state", as defined by the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and political agreement, in a way that guarantees Libya's unity, sovereignty, security and stability.
As for the Algerian Foreign Ministry, it did not give much importance to the Egyptian initiative, and did not refer to it by name, but merely said in a statement that it "took note of the recent political initiative in order to immediately stop the shooting and work to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis."
No to the case alone
Algeria stressed in the same statement, the importance of the role of neighboring countries in the path of a peaceful settlement in Libya, and to stand at the same distance from all parties.
This means that Algeria rejects the singularity of a particular country with the initiative of a solution in Libya. She had repeatedly confirmed Haftar's control of the capital, Tripoli, and Algerian President Abdel Majid Taboun said last January that Tripoli was a red line.
Algerian journalist Othman Lahiani describes the Maghreb position regarding what is happening in Libya with caution, because there is an awareness that any negative development in this country will negatively affect the countries of the region by virtue of geographical proximity.
He added, "We note that the Arab axis that supports Haftar (Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) is countries that have no independence in the political decision, which stems from the plans and visions of the (international) forces that are redrawing regional and international geography."
In the past few weeks, the international media addressed information that the UAE and Egypt exerted pressure on the United States of America to refuse to appoint Algerian diplomat Ramtan Amamara as a UN envoy to Libya to succeed Ghassan Salameh, who resigned in early March.
The Algerian researcher, who specializes in Libyan affairs, Abdelkader Dridi, believes that the difference in dealing with the Libyan crisis is not only subject to the geography of the Levant and Morocco, because the differences extend to between countries in the same region.
Looking for an Algerian role
For his part, Juma Al-Kumati, the Libyan government's envoy to the Arab Maghreb countries, in an interview with the Algerian newspaper, Al-Khobar, said, "We are still looking for a greater role for Algeria in the crisis, given that it is a strong neighbor in the Arab world and North Africa."
He continued, "We always look for Algeria to be a balanced country and not to allow any Arab power near or far to influence the Libyan scene to consolidate the division."
Al-Kumati stressed the need for Algeria to intervene to prevent undue interference in Libya, especially that Algerian national security is directly affected by what is happening in Libya, which it collects more than 900 km of common borders, "and there are very sensitive issues such as terrorism and the movement of arms, smuggling and others."