Turkey hosted Libya east-west reunification talks last week

Turkey hosted talks between Libya's eastern and western administrations last week with the goal of reunifying them, a senior Turkish official familiar with the talks told AFP Wednesday.

Ankara is one of the rare countries that maintains ties with both sides in Libya, which has been divided between rival leaderships since 2014 following the 2011 downfall of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

"Discussions have so far focused primarily on military unification, while political unity is expected to be addressed at a later stage," the official said.

The talks, which took place in the capital Ankara, were attended by military officials from Libya's eastern and western administrations as well as diplomats, the source said, adding that Turkey was acting as a mediator between the two sides.

Beset by instability since the overthrow of Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising, Libya is divided between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey strongly backed the Tripoli-based government during years of conflict in Libya, but ties with eastern authorities have warmed significantly in recent years.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the time had come to reunify the eastern and western administrations, hinting that an announcement could come soon.

"We have now reached a stage where the conditions are ripe to permanently secure the reunification of the east and the west," Fidan said after hosting a meeting of top European diplomats and regional powers in Istanbul.

"One of the most important pillars of national unification is how the military units currently controlled separately by both sides will be brought together under a single umbrella," he added.

 

- US 'backing' -

 

The Turkish official who spoke to AFP on Wednesday said that no agreement had yet been reached, but the parties had agreed to continue the talks.

"Turkey is the priority to host the talks but they could also take place in Libya," he said. 

"Given that Ankara now enjoys close ties with both Libya's eastern and western administrations, it is undoubtedly in a stronger position than any other external actor to negotiate a compromise on military and political reunification," Hamish Kinnear, an analyst at UK-based consulting group Verisk Maplecroft, told AFP.

Turkish mediation comes as Washington and the United Nations are also pushing for the reunification of the oil-rich country.

Asked whether Turkish and US plans conflicted, a foreign observer told AFP that Ankara and Washington's positions "are, in fact, aligned".

"If there is any significant friction, it is primarily with the Europeans, who are deeply divided on this issue, notably France and Italy, as well as Russia, which would see its influence diminish," the observer commented. 

Kinnear agreed that Turkey's push for what he described as an "elite bargain" to reunify Libya "likely has the tacit backing of Washington".

 

- Competition for power -

 

Under the proposed US plan for Libya's reunification, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who heads the Tripoli-based government, would remain prime minister, while Saddam Haftar, the eastern commander's son, would become head of the Presidential Council.

Kinnear suggested that the Turkish initiative might be "enough to secure a temporary reunification of Libya's governments", but warned that, in the longer term, destabilising competition for greater power and influence "is likely".

He said it was unlikely that these key figures would relinquish their direct influence over militias loyal to them and remain satisfied with their formal positions alone.

Last week, Libya's eastern-based parliament approved a maritime demarcation deal with Turkey, years after rejecting it when it was first signed.

The agreement has drawn anger from the European Union, Greece, Israel and Egypt, who denounced it as an infringement of their sovereign rights and a violation of international law.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the criticism, saying it had "no legitimate basis", speaking after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Analysts say Libya's approval gives Turkey stronger political backing for offshore surveys and negotiations over exploration.

fo-dla/rlp