BERLIN — My best source for what happened at the July 19 Berlin conference on Libya was the influential Moscow-based newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, and if its news analysis is accurate, the biggest loser of the gathering was Erdogan.
A few hours after the Berlin summit ended with a long, final document, a Moskovsky Komsomolets headline said “Erdogan freaked out leaving the conference on Libya in Berlin.” The paper wrote that Russian President “Vladimir Putin can breathe freely: The participants in the Berlin conference on Libya did not support Erdogan’s proposal for military intervention in the Libya conflict, to be carried by the Turkish army." The newspaper said attempts to bring together the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj and the Libyan opposition led by strongman Khalifa Hifter will continue. The publication continued, "And any military assistance and outside interference is strictly prohibited. As a result, Erdogan freaked out and left the conference ahead of schedule.”