Strategic Council Online—Interview: A university professor, referring to the national reconciliation and peace accord in Libya, said conditions of the peace accord in Libya is fragile because the weight and share of Libyan groups have not been properly examined and these issues will be influential in the period after elections.
Strategic Council Online – Turkey is trying to use the leverage of its military presence in Libya to pave the way for political negotiations on political and economic interests, particularly on the sharing of Eastern Mediterranean energy resources.
Hassan Ashrafi – Researcher on Turkey’s affairs
Strategic Council Online – Regional players such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey are attempting to break up Libya and establish two different sovereignties in the country. Therefore, if the war continues, Libya like Sudan, may be divided into the two eastern and western parts.
Hassan Hanizadeh – Expert on Asian Affairs
Strategic Council Online – Interview: The two sides of the war in Libya have ceased the conflict under the present circumstances and are calling for political talks to end the deadlock, an expert of international relations said, adding that they face lengthy and difficult negotiations.
Strategic Council Online – A university professor said that Turkey’s sphere of influence and territorialization in Libya is approaching the strategic depth and the first influence of Egypt, and in some cases they overlap. He added that at the beginning outbreak of clashes between Egypt and Turkey exists on the battlefield, but after a while when the two sides reach a balance in interests and the war turns into one of attrition they will go for negotiations.
Strategic Council Online: Following recent incident in Mediterranean waters between Turkish and French navies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has ordered an investigation into this unprecedented incident in the military relations between the two member states. The announcement of the arrest of members of a French spy network by Ankara, who were gathering information on Turkish soil, once again showed another questionable reflection of the internal developments of the NATO alliance and the deep differences in relations between its members.
Abolghasem Delphi – Former Ambassador to France
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: 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: Referring to the war of words between Turkey and the UAE over Libya, a university professor said that the rivalry that has taken place between the two groups in Libya is an endless game in which neither side will succeed in becoming influential powers in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. He said if this trend continues they will not be total victors in Libya.
Strategic Council Online: A university professor outlining the failure to achieve peace and ceasefire in Libya said: Since Khalifa Haftar is fully aware that Turkey would not abandon its support for economic investments and Brotherhood-led government in North Africa it has made accepting the ceasefire conditional on Turkish troop withdrawal from Libya to send the ball into the court of the National Unity Government and impose international pressure on it
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: 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
