Political Analysts: Turkey Insists On Increasing Influence in Libya

Political analyst Jalal Al-Salami said that the Turkish president's talk about the presence of Syrian fighters in Libya is a veiled message to the Russian side, noting that “the content of this message is that Ankara considers the Syrian Idlib and Libyan Tripoli one issue, and it can pressure Russia in Libya for Idlib and vice versa.”

He stressed that Turkey is "continuing to use all its cards to extend its influence in Libya."

As for the contradiction of the Turkish position with the outputs of the "Berlin Conference" and the relevant Security Council resolutions, Salami explained in his interview with the "Ben El Sotour" TV show, that "the formula of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's talk about the presence of Syrian fighters in Libya did not bear explicit recognition that Turkey was the one that sent the fighters, therefore, there can be no position by the Security Council against Ankara except it’s proofed by evidence."

[caption id="attachment_100764" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Turkish Troops Are Arriving in Tripoli[/caption]

Salami manifested that "Britain and Italy support Turkey in Libya, but in different proportions, but despite this, Ankara lacks active Western support compared to Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter, who enjoys broad support from Arab and Western, "stressing that Turkey "does not exist in Libya for the sake of Libya itself, as it has no direct interest there, but rather seeks to guarantee its right to the Eastern Mediterranean gas basin through Libya, in an attempt to formulate an equation that guarantees its maritime rights.”

On his part, Nasser Zuhair, a researcher in international relations, said that "Western powers will not deal with Erdogan's statements about Libya as adding something new, because there are many signs against Turkey in Libya, which had been announced previously, even after the Berlin conference.”

“Libya is still dilemma due to the lack of agreement among the European powers.  The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, tried to achieve a consensus between the French President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte before the Berlin conference,” he added.

Zuhair noted: "The only point that can be agreed upon is the meetings of the Economic Committee, the mechanism for distributing oil revenues and re-pumping it, otherwise there will be no progress in the negotiations, unless the truce turns into a permanent ceasefire, and this requires a great effort."