Turkey Uncovers Contacts with Eastern Libya Authorities

On Wednesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed that his country is communicating with the authorities of eastern Libya allied with the Libyan National Army, led by general Khalifa Haftar.

In a press confere nce held today for performance assessment of his ministry in 2020, Çavuşolu said that Turkey is communicating with the eastern authorities in Libya, noting that the special representative of the Tobruk-based Parliament Speaker has previously visited Turkey.

He pointed out that the Libyan Parliament Speaker, Aguila Saleh, intended to send his deputy to Turkey, but this visit yet to take place.

Notably, Turkey is the main supporter of the Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister, Fayez Al-Sarraj, against the Libyan National Army led by Haftar, which is allied with the country's elected government and the House of Representatives.

On October 23, 2020, the parties to the conflict in Libya signed a ceasefire agreement, but they later exchanged repeated accusations of violating the armistice.

Since January, Turkey has been transporting Syrian mercenaries into the North African state and has sent military officers and experts to command the operation rooms of the militias affiliated to the GNA.

Ankara continues to escalate its involvement in the Libyan conflict by supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA), despite Turkey participating and agreeing to the results of the Berlin Conference held last January where foreign states active in Libya agreed to uphold the UN arms embargo.