Cairo-
The two media brothers Amr and Imad El-Din Adeeb sparked a diplomatic controversy between Cairo and Tripoli;
After comparing the causes and repercussions of the current situation between Ukraine and Russia with its counterpart between Egypt and Libya.
In response, the Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Manqoush, summoned the Chargé d’Affairs of the Egyptian Embassy in Libya, Tamer Mustafa, on Sunday, regarding what was circulated on an Egyptian program, in reference to what was said by the two brothers, Adeeb, on the “Al-Hekaya” program broadcast on MBC. (MBC), owned by Saudi Arabia, last Friday.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry stated - in a statement - that comparing what is happening between Ukraine and Russia to the relationship between Egypt and Libya represents "a disregard for Libyan sovereignty and the national unity government."
The statement quoted the Egyptian Chargé d'Affairs as saying that "the party that carried out this act does not represent the direction of the Egyptian government and its positions on Libya," while the Libyan minister affirmed that "the historical relationship between the two brotherly countries is greater and deeper than any political orientations or polarizations."
In response to a reporter’s query regarding the statement of its Libyan counterpart, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that “all Egyptian and foreign media, newspapers and channels operate in Egypt with complete freedom, and that they express their point of view on various issues, and that the official position of the state is expressed through statements issued by Egyptian government".
And she stressed - in a statement - that "Egypt's relationship with Libya over the past years has always been characterized by its keenness to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to meet the will of its people without external interference in connection with the bonds of brotherhood and historical relationship that bind the peoples of the two countries."
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement added that "all parties should focus their efforts in order to promote and strengthen these principles through official channels and contacts that bring Egypt together with all the Libyan political spectrum."
And the journalist Amr Adib - known for his closeness to the Egyptian authority - hosted his brother Imad Al-Din by phone last Friday to comment on the situation between Russia and Ukraine, and the latter said in response to a question about the fault in the Ukrainian war that "if you look at it from the perspective of international law and the moral issue, a country should not It is trying to impose order on another country, as opposed to looking at it in terms of national security and regional security."
He added - directing his speech to his brother Amr - "If we imagine that one (countries) introduced an alliance or missiles on your borders... we will not stand by and watch," to Amr Adib agreed, "like the Libyan border, for example."
It is noteworthy that Egypt had previously carried out air raids in February 2015 on the Libyan cities of Derna and Sirte, after the Islamic State (ISIS) had massacred 21 Egyptian Christians who were working in Libya.
After successive defeats suffered by the forces of retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Haftar (backed by Egypt), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi saw in the summer of 2020 that "direct intervention in Libya (at that time) became available to him with international legitimacy in order to preserve Libyan and Egyptian national security."
Days after Al-Sisi’s speech, the Egyptian House of Representatives agreed, in a secret session, to send forces in the western direction (Libya), after a call by the Libyan Parliament (held in the eastern city of Tobruk) to Al-Sisi to intervene militarily in Libya to preserve national security.
At the time, the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord rejected this step, describing it as "illegal", in addition to a warning from the United Nations against the consequences of this step on the stability of Libya.
Since the failure of Haftar's military campaign against the capital, Tripoli, 2019-2020, Cairo has reconsidered its plans in Libya, and has become closer to betting on the marketing of the political track.