Libya conflict

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with Saddam Haftar, Deputy Commander of the Libyan National Army, in Benghazi, Aug. 12, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey's Libya maritime win no guarantee for Saddam Hifter's presidential ambitions

Turkey’s push to broker Libyan reunification has gained momentum with the ratification of a maritime deal, but political divisions and competing regional interests could limit Ankara’s influence.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Fidan

Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

The Hellenic Navy Roussen or Super Vita class Fast Missile Patrol Boat P 71 HS Ritsos patrols off the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), in the Dodecanese, the furthest south eastern Greek Island, 2 kilometers from the Turkish mainland, on Aug. 28, 2020.

Turkey-Greece cable dispute hits impasse as Ankara insists on prior coordination

Turkey and Greece are increasingly at an impasse over the Great Sea Interconnector project, which aims to link the power grids of Greece and Cyprus and eventually Israel.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the President for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends a conference for the support of peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes region, in Paris, on October 30, 2025. The international community gathered in Paris on October 30, 2025 to raise awareness about the dire humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region, aiming to raise hundreds of millions of euros despite a drastic decrease in international aid, particularly from the United States. (Phot

Interview

Trump's Africa adviser denies Libya plan would entrench rival families

The reported unification plan for Libya has been met with pushback in a country torn apart by rival factions and foreign interference.

Latest News

Russia’s Putin hosts Saddam Hifter amid instability in Libya: What to know

Saddam Hifter meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin

Analysis

Libya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace push

Libyan firefighting teams attempt to extinguish a fire at the Zawiya refinery, the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, after a tank belonging to the state-owned Libyan Brega Oil Company was attacked by unknown perpetrators, in Zawiya, Libya, on Aug. 11, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Libya as US-backed unification push gathers pace

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity of Libya, in Tripoli on Aug. 11, 2026.

Turkey's intel chief hosts Libya delegation amid unification push: What to know

Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin

Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan runs soccer diplomacy with UAE, Libya at Champions League final

Turkey's president hosted Libya’s prime minister and the UAE president at the Champions League final in Istanbul.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Sudan’s paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Hemedti in Khartoum, Sudan in February 2023. - Russian Foreign Ministry

Sudan war complicates Russia's port plans, strains Wagner ties in Libya

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s Tatneft makes new oil discovery in Libya

Russia and the controversial military contractor Wagner Group have longstanding interests in Libya’s oil, but instability has hurt the ability of Russian oil companies to operate in the North African country.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his wife Emine Erdogan (L) sit in their Togg T10X, Turkey's first domestically-produced electric car, after receiving it from the company at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 3, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt’s FM to visit Turkey ahead of restoration of ties: Cavusoglu

The Turkish government unleashed a fresh regional charm offensive ahead of the critical May 14 vote, as the top Turkish diplomat announced planned and potential meetings with his Egyptian and Syrian counterparts.

A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stands in the back of a pickup truck bearing his portrait and loudspeakers, in the capital Cairo's Tahrir square on January 25, 2018, as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year reign of former President Hosni Mubarak. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's Sisi unlikely to reconcile with Erdogan before Turkey's election

The Turkish military presence in Libya remains the key snag in Ankara’s efforts to mend fences with Egypt.

Libya embassy

Biden admin 'actively' working to reopen US Embassy in Libya

The US has lacked a permanent diplomatic mission in Libya since heavy fighting forced American diplomats to withdraw in 2014.

A set of ammunition, ordnance and armoured vehicles, including projectiles, rockets, shells and mortars, are seen at a demining group headquarters in Hay al-Andalus on March 29, 2022 Tripoli, Libya. Russian backed Wagner Group, aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar in east, left behind hundreds of unmarked mines and booby-traps scattered amongst civilian areas in the suburbs around the Libyan capital.

Russia's Wagner activities expanding in Libya despite growing Western scrutiny

The Wagner Group has sought to use Libya as a forward base for its activities in the Sahel region, particularly Chad and Niger, while building spheres of influence with local communities and smuggling networks in the southern border regions of Libya.

Libya

The Takeaway: Can Libya pull off elections in 2023?

Plus, the US condemns an Israeli minister's call to "wipe out" a Palestinian town, and concerns grow over Iran's nuclear activity.

Vehicles of forces loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah are parked along the waterfront (with the "That El Emad Towers" complex seen in the background) in the capital Tripoli on May 17, 2022 hours after forces of the rival Tobruk-based government withdrew following heavy fighting between opposing militias. (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE and Qatar manage shifting policies, fluid alliances in Libya

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry give a joint press conference, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 22, 2023.

Large Arab boycott of Libya conference as Italy's FM visits Egypt

On the sidelines of a heavily boycotted Arab League consultative meeting, Egyptian officials met Italy's foreign minister to discuss illegal immigration from Libya, among other issues.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C), Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (R) and head of the Turkish Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan (L).

Turkey's intel chief visits Libya following trip by CIA head

Turkey’s intelligence chief Hakan Fidan paid a visit to Libya only days after his American counterpart, William Burns, traveled to the conflict-torn country.

Vehicles of forces loyal to Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah are parked along the waterfront, hours after forces of the rival Tobruk-based government withdrew following heavy fighting between opposing militiasTripoli, Libya, May 17, 2022.

Libya rivals agree to pursue 'constitutional base' for settlement