The conditions laid down by retired Major General Khalifa Haftar for the resumption of oil production are seen as an indirect announcement of the failure of the negotiations that have continued for weeks to put an end to the heavy losses caused by the closure of Libyan oil installations.
The oil sector losses since stopping production are estimated at 6.5 billion dollars, in addition to the huge additional costs that the Oil Corporation will incur to repair the severe damage to the infrastructure of the oil facilities, estimated at billions of dinars.
Analysts and politicians believe that Haftar does not intend to reach political solutions that might exclude him from the scene, but rather seeks to gain time in light of the mobilization of his forces and allied countries by delivering new military reinforcements to his forces and the mercenaries supporting him in Sirte, Jafra and southern Libya, in order to launch new attacks on the forces Concord government.
Among the conditions announced by Hifter to reopen the oil facilities are depositing oil revenues in a foreign country, setting up a "transparent" mechanism for spending with international guarantees, and reviewing the accounts of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli to find out the path of the money spent over the past years.
The National Oil Corporation in Tripoli called on the United Nations Security Council to hold the countries responsible for renewed closures of Libyan oil exports accountable. Last Friday, KPC announced the force majeure lifting all oil exports after entering an oil tanker to load crude oil from Sidra oil port, which is controlled by Haftar forces.
The head of the Supreme State Council, Khaled al-Mashri, considered that the retired general does not have the decision to stop exporting or opening oil, but rather is an instrument in the hands of other countries.
Al-Mashri rejected - in a statement to Al-Jazeera channel - Hefter's proposal to open an account in a foreign country to deposit oil revenues, because it violates sovereignty and entered Libya's stage of "oil for food" as it was in Iraq.
Fake slogans
The US embassy in Tripoli regretted that Wagner's mercenary raids on the facilities of the National Oil Corporation and efforts backed from abroad against the Libyan economic and financial sectors hampered progress and increased the risk of confrontation.
She stressed in a statement that "these disappointing measures will not prevent the embassy from continuing its commitment to work with responsible Libyan institutions, such as the National Accord Government and the House of Representatives, to protect Libya's sovereignty, achieve a permanent ceasefire, and support a Libyan consensus on transparency" in managing oil and gas revenue.
"Those who undermine the Libyan economy and cling to the military escalation will face isolation and the risk of sanctions. We are confident that the Libyan people clearly see who is ready to help Libya move forward and who instead chooses to indifference," the US embassy added.
For his part, Muhammad Al-Dirat, advisor to the President of the Al-Wefaq Government on American Relations, considered that Haftar’s statement did not come new as he had been seeking for years to seize the livelihoods of the Libyan people and install himself as a dictator after his catastrophic failure politically and militarily. "Maintaining oil, transparency in distribution, and fighting corruption."
Al-Darrat explains to Al-Jazeera Net that the Al-Wefaq government did not choose the military solution to treat the political crisis, but Haftar is the one who chose the military path, with the support of countries that were counting on the success of his devastating project, noting that the Al-Wefaq government will work to defeat Haftar from all regions as it removed it from the walls of Tripoli.
The United Arab Emirates plans and
confirms Mustafa Al-Mujie, spokesman for the "Burkan Anger" operation, that treachery has become a syndrome of Haftar since it was pledged by the Emirates, which is also on its way to shameful exclusion in the Libyan file.
"The UAE is the one that instructed Haftar to stop exporting oil, and it gained days from this maneuver. Upon entering the first oil tanker to load crude oil, the mercenaries were pushed towards Sirte in a new treachery operation, then he announced that the oil would not open," he added in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net.
Al-Majei did not rule out the military escalation process, saying, "If Haftar's allies did not interfere to discourage him from going crazy and convincing him of the fact that he was defeated and removed from the scene, a strong escalation is coming today or tomorrow." It is considered that the introduction of oil in the military and political bargaining chip is a cheap blackmail in which neither the UAE nor its allies will succeed.
A clear contradiction,
Brig. Gen. Al-Hadi Draah, a spokesman for the "Sirt al-Jafra Operations" room, confirms that the countries supporting Hifter - such as Russia, France, Egypt and the UAE - claim that their ally is ready for a ceasefire at a time when they are sending more military support to his forces on the ground, and this is a clear contradiction.
He added, "Yesterday, two Russian air defense systems arrived, with the arrival of large numbers of Egyptian soldiers and ammunition vehicles at the Qardabiya base in Sirte."
Derah says to Al-Jazeera Net that "this military build-up completely confirms that Haftar and his supporters and supportive countries do not want any political solution that will take them out of the Libyan scene, but rather seek to enter Libya in a new war and chaos that they benefit from."
Hifter does not have the decision,
and the writer and political analyst Abdullah Al-Kabeer believes that the announcement of the continued closure of oil confirms that Hifter's oil decision is no longer owned by Hifter, and it is in the hands of foreign powers that use the retired brigade and the tribes supporting it.
He adds, "The condition for opening a new account to deposit oil revenues means mortgaging it to an external administration. As for the request to review the accounts of the central bank, the latter had previously sent approval to the UN mission, but the parallel bank in Al Bayda had set conditions before the review."
Al-Kabeer continues his talk to Al-Jazeera Net, saying, "It seems that the international community is yielding to Haftar's will and giving him a false victory, which reduces the state of congestion and anger in his areas of influence after his recent losses."
The writer considers that the process of distributing the proceeds fairly is being discussed around in the meetings of the Economic File Committee, and it is possible that the reason for the retreat from the opening of oil was Haftar's knowledge that the channels of spending the proceeds in Barqa would be far from his hand and he could not seize them.
The continued closure of oil may increase the possibilities of the military clash with the reconciliation forces advancing towards Sirte and Al-Jafra, according to the author, who indicates that Haftar's bargaining with the oil paper did not achieve what he wanted and opened it without conditions, which means losing any bargaining chips, as he pushes those who support him in the direction of igniting a new war against Concord government and Turkey.