Egypt works to alter Turkey's Libya road map
The first official visit from Egypt to Libya's internationally recognized Tripoli government aims to prevent a possible military push against strategic Sirte under the control of the rival group.
Turkey has been insisting on a Libya strategy that calls for the all-out defeat of one of the warring Libyan factions, but recent Egyptian diplomatic efforts have revealed the vulnerabilities of Ankara’s approach.
In a surprising outreach, Egypt dispatched a high-level delegation to Tripoli on Dec. 28 to Libya’s Government of National Accord; Cairo has been supporting Libya's eastern forces commander Khalifa Hifter. The newly initiated talks between the two sides, which include plans for the reopening of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Tripoli and resumption of mutual flights, have the potential to spoil Ankara's gains in the Libyan conflict, where Turkish military support has tipped the balance in favor of the Government of National Accord against the Hifter-led forces, which are also backed by the United Arab Emirates.
The visit came amid a recent showdown between Ankara and Hifter. Speaking during independence day celebrations Dec. 24, Hifter called on his forces to “clear the country” of Turkish forces following the Turkish parliament’s approval to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in war-torn Libya.
“There will be no security or peace as long as the boots of the Turkish military are desecrating our immaculate soil," Hifter said.
