Strategic Council Online – For the Westerners, any defeat and retreat of General Haftar’s forces mean the defeat of Egypt and the Arab reactionary states, which have sought to secure Western interests in Libya on a proxy basis, and now with the big defeat of Khalifa Haftar’s forces, have left the battlefield to the rival forces supported by Turkey.
Jafar Qanadbashi – African Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online – Talking about the field progress of the National Unity Government and the defeats of Khalifa Haftar in Libya, a university professor said it is unlikely that peace will be achieved in Libya in the current situation. He stressed that other agreements should be reached in addition to the Skhirat peace agreement another deal must be forged taking into account the demands of the political groups because if the government of national unity fails to meet the people’s demands we may see extremist groups emerge in the country.
Strategic Council Online: In the matter of fossil energy resources in the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Zionist regime, Greece and Cyprus have formed a bloc against that of Turkey, Libya and the Northern Cyprus. This situation has drawn the region to further security and military disputes. Meanwhile, if Syria, Lebanon and Gaza also enter the process of exploring and extracting gas fields, the equations will be much more complex.
Sabah Zangeneh – Energy Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: The new round of rivalries in Libya began when the Turkish and Russian governments sought to pave the way for their exclusive presence in the country under the pretext of a ceasefire. They aimed to forge an agreement between Seraj and Haftar governments without the knowledge of the European states.
Jafar Qanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: US officials have witnessed a series of open and clandestine steps to launch anti-Iranian movements in Iraq that have not only led to serious setbacks but have also resulted in the expulsion of US troops from Iraq.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – Middle East Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs said that the Syrians have shown that they have no consideration or reservation for improving relations with the Arab states around them, adding that the Americans do not want an improvement of relations between Syria and Arab states and are exerting pressures so that Damascus would not return to the Arab fold.
Strategic Council Online: An expert on West Asian affairs said the trend of America’s expulsion from Iraq has started, adding that the Americans were trying to accuse Iran before the public opinion of Iraq by suggesting that the attack on al-Taji camp was Iran’s work while this is a projection and escape forward. He said the Iraqi people’s protest against the US occupation in Iraq has nothing to do with Iran.
Strategic Council Online: Former Iranian ambassador to Libya criticizing the UN role and performance in Libya crisis said the outbreak of a regional war in Libya is unlikely but current violence and political confrontations will continue.
Strategic Council Online: A Middle East affairs analyst, pointing out the dimensions of the so-called Deal of the Century scheme, emphasized: Compared to the Oslo Process the scheme does not have an advantage and the economic development promised to the Palestinians is in vain and sounds like a joke. The unveiling of the traitorous Deal of the Century is an opportunity for the unity of the Islamic Ummah and cooperation between Islamic governments in defending the rights of the Palestinian people.
Strategic Council Online: In Libya, extensive military and material support is extended to General Khalifa Haftar. In regional level too, countries like Jordan, Sudan, UAE and Egypt extend logistical, financial and military support to Haftar. Therefore, the probability of his victory and the defeat of Faiz al-Seraj is one of the leading scenarios.
Strategic Council Online: A university professor cited Moscow’s announcement that Khalifa Haftar has left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with the Libyan National Unity Government, saying: “Until the Arab countries are convinced that Khalifa Haftar will have the upper hand in the agreements to be reached, they will not be willing to allow him to agree to a ceasefire.”
Strategic Council Online: Despite the geographical, strategic and economic importance of Libya for Turkey, the Mediterranean movements of Ankara occur within the framework of a new policy Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to apply.
Siamak Kakai – Turkey Affairs expert
Strategic Council Online: An expert on African affairs says the proxy war in Libya has somehow started with the intervention of the regional states, mainly the Arab states. He considers the ineffectiveness of the National Unity Government a means to further intensify the provocative efforts of Khalifa Haftar, emphasizing that in these circumstances, one cannot virtually draw a good perspective for the future of the Libyan government.
Strategic Council Online: The most important reason for Washington’s lifting of Cyprus arms embargo is the serious threat against Israeli and Egyptian interests in the region prompted by an agreement reached between Turkey and Libya over security-military and border issues in recent weeks and demarcating marine boundaries. The US Senate has voted to lift the arms embargo on Cyprus in a move that will displease Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ghadir Golkarian – Professor at Near East University in Cyprus
Strategic Council Online: Libya has now been turned into a field for the rivalry of the regional and trans-regional powers. The plurality of power centres and domestic actors in the Libyan crisis, the multiplicity of interests in the neighbouring countries and in the international environment have created a complicated situation for the country.
Jafar Ghanadbashi – West Asian Affairs Expert
Strategic Council Online: President Donald Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, has acknowledged that the economic part of the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ has faced defeat due to the coordinated opposition of the Palestinian groups. Zahra Rezaei – International relations researcher
