Istanbul -

Turkey is returning to the Libyan arena again, seeking to resolve the differences between the parties and find a consensus regarding the political crisis in the country, coinciding with the rising fears of Libya's sliding again into a civil war in light of the presence of two conflicting governments.

The Turkish endeavors culminated this time in a meeting that gathered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital, Ankara, with the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives in Tobruk, Aqila Saleh, and the Vice President of the Presidential Council, Abdullah Al-Lafi.

Although no official Turkish statement or statement was issued about the content of the talks that took place in the tripartite meeting of the Turkish Presidential Complex, Al-Lafi’s tweet after the meeting was positive, as he confirmed that it was agreed to preserve the unity of the Libyan soil, and to expedite the conduct of the electoral process, through the necessary legislation and agreed.

Today, we met in #Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of the Speaker of Parliament, Counselor Aguila Saleh.

We discussed the political developments, and the views agreed on preserving the unity of Libya, expediting the holding of elections through the necessary legislation, through one strong government, and emphasizing the exclusion of a military solution.

pic.twitter.com/w1KcvCuUPR

— Abdullah Al-Lafi (@ALafidpc) August 2, 2022

Turkey's new policy towards Libya

The new Turkish strategy towards Libya came from Ankara's ambassador to Tripoli, Kenan Yilmaz, who confirmed in an interview with the Anadolu Agency, that Turkey adopts a comprehensive approach towards Libya, looking at it as a whole without distinguishing between east and west, and supports stability and political consensus in this country.

Yilmaz added that Ankara supports the legitimate solutions defended by the Libyans, and supports the ongoing discussions between the Libyan House of Representatives in Tobruk and the Supreme Council of State on the formation of the constitutional base.

The ambassador indicated that the Turkish vision for resolving the current political crisis is to establish a constructive dialogue between all parties, to sit at the talks table with sincere intentions to find a final solution, and not to allow external interference that would disturb the progress of the ongoing talks on the constitutional base.


Turkey's goals in Libya

Hakan Tamazturk, an expert on Turkish foreign policy, said in an exclusive statement to Al Jazeera Net, that Turkey aims, through its military and political presence in Libya, to achieve permanent stability in this country and not to allow it to be drawn back into armed conflicts.

He believed that Turkey seeks to provide the necessary and required support to form a government through free and fair elections that enjoys the support of the largest popular base, to achieve the well-being of the Libyan people and preserve its interests in the eastern Mediterranean, especially since Ankara has important agreements with Tripoli regarding this maritime area.

On the recent visit of Libyan officials to Turkey, Tamazturk said that this visit comes after remarkable statements by the US ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, who hinted that the United States of America pledges not to allow retired General Khalifa Haftar to obstruct any effort to form a new government in Libya.

He continued, "Aqila Saleh is aware of Fathi Pashaga's influence and his strong relations with prominent political and military leaders in Tripoli and Misurata, and he is also aware of Turkey's influence in western Libya, and his visit to Ankara may be to win Turkey's support for Pashaga."

"So far, Turkey has been trying to maintain its balanced position between Prime Minister of the National Unity Government Abdulhamid Dabaiba and Bashagha, but it seems that Ankara now needs to take a clear position in this conflict. Unlike Dabaiba, Bashagha has supporters in the east and west of the country, so he has It would be a suitable option for Ankara."

The current Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba (right) and the Prime Minister-designate by Parliament Fathi Bashagha (French - Reuters)

Be careful

For his part, writer Arkin Isli said in his column in the Turkish newspaper "Ulusal", that Ankara should be careful in its policies towards Libya, and that it must maintain its influence in this country despite international conspiracies.

"Despite the partial rapprochement between Turkey and the UAE, the relationship between these two countries remains a competitive one in the international arena. Ankara should act with greater caution in its activities in Libya, and is keen to protect the agreements concluded with the Tripoli government," he added.

Turkish-Libyan agreements

Turkey and Libya have distinguished political, economic and historical relations, as the two countries have cooperation agreements in various economic, political and security fields, among others.

Among the most prominent agreements concluded between the two parties, the signing of two memoranda of understanding, the first on security and military cooperation, and the second on defining maritime jurisdiction areas.

The two memoranda of understanding signed between the two sides aim to protect the rights of the two countries stemming from international law.

Fears are rising that Libya will descend again into civil war in light of the presence of two conflicting governments since the House of Representatives in Tobruk in early March granted confidence in a new government headed by Fathi Bashagha.

The Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, refuses to hand over power except to a government that comes through a parliament elected by the people to end all periods and transitional bodies.

It is noteworthy that Ankara's relations with Libya were previously limited to the internationally recognized Tripoli government, while it recently adopted openness to the Libyan east as well.


Turkish delegation to Libya

As part of Turkey's efforts to rapprochement with all Libyan parties, the Turkish Parliament established the Turkish-Libyan Parliamentary Friendship Group in April 2021.

A Turkish delegation is currently planning a visit to the Libyan House of Representatives in Tobruk headed by Ahmed Yilmaz, head of the Turkish-Libyan Parliamentary Friendship Group.