Cairo quiet as Ankara reaches out to eastern Libya

Cairo and Ankara are at odds over Libya and the wider Mediterranean region, but Ankara’s recent contacts with Cairo’s allies in eastern Libya might encourage rapprochement between the two regional powers.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Libyan GNU Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, April 12, 2021.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Libyan Government of National Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah attend a signing ceremony after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, on April 12, 2021. - ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images
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Mustafa Fetouri
@MFetouri
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Turkish Ambassador to Libya Kenan Yilmaz met on Jan. 19 with Libyan parliament speaker Aqila Saleh in his hometown of al-Qubah, west of the seat of parliament in Tobruk.

Yilmaz said in press remarks that there are plans to “reopen [Turkey’s] consulate-general in Benghazi,” which has been closed since 2014 during the height of the conflict in Libya’s second-biggest city. 

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