Istanbul – Turkish political analyst Muhannad Hafızoğlu affirmed that recent movements between the General Command of the Libyan National Army and Ankara reflect a realistic political reading based on mutual interests. He noted that the current stage is witnessing a mutual opening between the two sides in several fields, chief among them the military sphere.
In an interview with the “Libya Alhadath” TV channel, Hafızoğlu explained that Benghazi has realized that Turkiye cannot be bypassed, while Ankara, in turn, has understood that its interests cannot be achieved without opening up more to eastern Libya. He considered the recent mutual visits to reflect broad coordination in the areas of training and armament, highlighting Benghazi’s political and military weight.
Hafızoğlu stated that the cooperation between the two parties includes three main levels:
- Military Field: Through training, arms exports, and the signing of new agreements.
- Political Field: Via understandings with active international parties such as Russia and the United States, in addition to Egypt.
- Economic and Energy Field: Especially concerning the coasts under the control of eastern Libya, alongside Ankara’s efforts to push the Libyan parliament to ratify the maritime boundary demarcation agreement.
The Turkish analyst pointed out that the map of regional alliances is undergoing remarkable changes, as Turkiye has become able to attract parties that were previously part of opposing blocs. He noted that Cairo, Tripoli, and Benghazi are now aligned with Ankara, and considered the biggest losers from these shifts to be Greece, Greek Cyprus, and the European Union.
Regarding the Libyan roadmap, Hafızoğlu stressed that the UN’s role remains weak and slow, emphasizing that Turkiye is pushing towards finding a quadrilateral mechanism that includes Cairo, Ankara, Tripoli, and Benghazi, viewing it as more realistic and suitable for the aspirations of the Libyan people than the current international mechanisms.