Strategic Council Online- Interview: An expert on Africa said about the latest developments of Libya: After the second Berlin meeting which was held during late June 2021, it seems that the procedure of state-building in Libya, especially by the United Nations has gained new momentum.
Strategic Council Online – Evidence shows that developments in Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece will overshadow Turkey’s foreign policy in the coming months.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – In recent weeks, the Turkish government, in the shadow of media silence, has been shaping certain frameworks in its foreign relations with some countries and players in the region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Zionist regime which could be analyzed and evaluated with such indicators as “pragmatic rotation”, “balancing” or “foreign policy reform”; until recently, Ankara had more or less escalated tensions with those countries and players, and even went as far as political and security conflicts.
Hamid Khoshayand – international affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Africa affairs commenting on the current situation in Libya and the transitional government said: The government that is currently in power in Libya is known as the transitional government or the government of national unity, and is the result of a process that the United Nations initiated several years ago for state-building in Libya.
Strategic Council Online – A faculty member of the University of Tehran, referring to the reasons for the dispute between Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Yemen, stressed: Given that the two countries are in different situations and have different points of view, their alliance is questionable and it is possible that their past relations in the region will totally fade away.
Strategic Council Online – The Eastern Mediterranean, border issues as well as the maritime agreement between Turkey and Libya are among the axes that have caused tensions between Greece and Turkey over the past two years. One of the contentious issues between the two neighbors is the internal developments in Libya. The visits of the leaders of both Libyan factions to Turkey and Greece have been met with fringe and controversy, and the crisis in Libya has practically added to the scope of the traditional rivalry between Athens and Ankara. Libya is in a geopolitically sensitive position, and its developments directly affect the security of Africa, the Middle East and Europe. If the Libyan crisis is resolved, the country can increase its oil production in 2 to 3 years and start oil trade with southern Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Referring to the recent tensions between Turkey and Western members of NATO, an expert on Turkey affairs said that Ankara’s approach to NATO and its interaction with the United States in recent years has become a challenging situation that almost has put Turkey in front of Western countries.
Strategic Council Online – A university professor said that Turkey and Egypt are forced to negotiate on issues of common interests in the Mediterranean and North Africa, adding: It is likely that in the near future we will see the start of negotiations and somehow redefine cooperation between Egypt and Turkey, the two active actors in the Libyan equation.
Strategic Council Online – Turkey has made significant progress in the military industry, and is known in the world not only in the production of light and heavy weapons, vehicles, ships and military aircraft, but has also outstanding activity in the design and development of missiles, electronic systems and control.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in a news conference that Ankara has sent a positive message to the Egyptian government in Cairo. After eight years of turbulent relations between the two countries, Cavusoglu said Turkey has made contacts at the intelligence and diplomatic levels with Egypt and Ankara is ready to sign an agreement with Cairo to assign marine borders through negotiation under the present circumstances. And Turkey considers as positive the activities of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea excavations. Egypt has implicitly recognized Turkey’s marine borders and sent a positive message to Ankara in this way.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international relations
Strategic Council Online – An expert on geopolitical affairs commenting on NATO cooperation with Arab states, especially those in the Persian Gulf, said: Countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia since their independence had been under British tutelage and were totally dependent on that country and after Britain withdrew from east of the Suez Canal, the United States replaced it. In fact, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf think that by setting up their bases Western countries would provide them with security, but this is not the case, as we see today that Saudi Arabia is the target of the Yemeni missiles.
Strategic Council Online-Editorial: The interference of the White House in the domestic affairs of Russia during the past one month concerning the Alexi Navalny issue indicated that the Biden administration is profiting from the tools of democracy and human rights for its own interest in order to obtain maximal interests in the global order. And this is an issue which can cause more frictions in the relations between the United States and Russia as Russia believes that the West presents a two-direction and conflicting definition of concrete concepts such as freedom, human rights and democracy.
Dr. Ahmad Vakhishteh, professor of the International Relations Faculty of the National Eurasia University
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—Interview: An expert of Africa studies says the United Nations Secretary General’s proposal to send international observers to guarantee and monitor the ceasefire in Libya aims to expedite the process of state-building in that country.
Strategic Council Online – It is very optimistic to think that the Morocco talks will have desirable outcome, even though they are serious and backed by the United Nations and other international organizations. But if after the elections of December 24, 2021, Libya’s internal leaders respect its results, it can be said that this country is one step closer to the lasting peace.
Dr. Hossein Ebrahimnia – University Professor and Analyst of International Affairs
Strategic Council Online – The warning to suspend Iran’s voting right in the United Nations prepares the ground for denying Iran access to international rights and opportunities.
Reza Majidzadeh – Researcher on Political Economy of Development
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Turkish affairs says growing relations between Turkey and Lebanon in political and economic fronts and other areas of mutual interest would pave the way for more role-playing even limited by Turkey in the political scene of Lebanon.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: Due to consciously cooperation with Russian arms company Rosoboronexport and the purchase of the S-400 missile defense systems, Turkey has gone under US sanctions of CAATSA as Washington does not tolerate interaction with Russia in military domains by other countries. The purchase of S-400 missile defense systems by Turkey has endangered the safety of the US military personnel and technology and would provide access for Russia to the armed forces and defense industries of Turkey. The main goal of US sanctions on Turkey is to prevent Russia from reaping huge financial gains and accessing and impacting the NATO defense systems. US Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo has asked Turkey to resolve the issue of S-400 with long-term cooperation in the defense sector and adapt once again itself with the rules of NATO and the purchase of arms compatible with this military alliance treaty.
Mahmoud Fazeli, expert of international issues
Strategic Council Online – Europe is pursuing a kind of “tilt but don’t spill” attitude towards Turkey, based on which it is neither indifferent nor reacts harshly.
Afshin Zargar – PhD in International Relations, Faculty Member
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
