Ankara has huge economic and strategic stakes in Libya, which it seeks to maintain.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday his country aims to strengthen relations with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA).
The pledge came after a meeting with the head of the Tripoli-based government, Fayez al-Sarraj, who last month announced plans to step down within six weeks as part of efforts to broker a peace agreement.
Erdogan also expressed “full solidarity” with the GNA during the meeting in Istanbul, his office said.
According to analysts, Erdogan is trying to firm up his alliance with the Islamist-dominated GNA in an attempt to guarantee Turkey’s interests in case ongoing peace talks end the polarised situation in Libya.
Turkey has backed the GNA, providing military support, which included thousands of mercenaries, following an April 2019 offensive on Tripoli by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.
Earlier this year, the Turkish involvement in Libya helped turn the tide in the conflict, allowing the GNA to repel the deadly offensive on Tripoli by the LNA. Turkish officials have signalled their intent to establish military bases in Libya.
But the diplomatic situation has shifted a great deal since then.
UN-sponsored talks have been held in recent weeks in several countries between rival Libyan administrations in search for a peaceful settlement.
“President Erdogan stated that Turkey would continue to stand by Libya in full solidarity and strengthen relations with the Government of National Accord, the only legitimate representative of Libya,” the presidency said.
The last meeting in Istanbul came less than a month ago, when Sarraj visited Istanbul on September 6.
The Tripoli-based government and a parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk linked to Haftar agreed in August on a ceasefire and elections by March.
After recent talks between the two sides in Morocco, Sarraj said he was willing to step down as a new government comes together.
Last month, Erdogan said Turkey was upset by ally Sarraj’s decision to step down. Sarraj’s government declared a ceasefire on August 21 in the North African country’s conflict.
Ankara has huge economic and strategic stakes in Libya, which it seeks to maintain.
It has signed two deals with the Tripoli-based government on security and maritime boundaries.
The maritime demarcation agreement emboldened Turkey to ramp up hydrocarbon exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, prompting an ongoing clash with Greece, Cyprus and other European nations over territorial rights.
Earlier in September, Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that his country’s agreements and cooperation with the GNA will continue despite Sarraj’s desire to quit.
“These accords will not be impacted by this political period because these are decisions made by the government, not by any individual,” Kalin told Demiroren News Agency at the time.
Sarraj has been pitted in an internal feud with his interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, another pro-Islamist ally of Turkey.