How does Erdogan get away with it all?
The United States and European Union’s inertia may allow Turkey to threaten de-escalation efforts in Libya and South Caucasus.
![1228640936 President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives to give a press conference after the cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on September 21, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1228640936.jpg/GettyImages-1228640936.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Rp0MlFIg)
The United Nations brokered an agreement between Libya’s two main warring factions for a cease-fire in Geneva on Oct. 23. Stephanie T. Williams, deputy secretary-general of the UN and acting special envoy to Libya, announced that “the two sides agreed to a complete, countrywide and permanent agreement with immediate effect.”
Williams said that the agreement called for front-line forces to return to their bases and for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from the country within three months — a process that would be monitored by the UN.