Turkey Stabilizing Libya? Think Again.

by Uzay Bulut  •  November 22, 2018 at 4:00 am

        

• "The chaotic situation enables the emergence of enclaves of terror, inspired by the ideology of ISIS and al-Qaeda. The world should make sure that Libya does not turn into another pre-2001 Afghanistan-like state on the doorstep of Europe." — Dr. Mordechai Kedar and Dr. Dan Gottlieb.
• "Since there is almost no power on the ground in Libya with which the EU can come to an agreement to stop the influx of illegal migrants from the sub-Saharan states through Libya to Europe, this migration route will probably continue to be a gateway for many more thousands of Africans into Europe." — Dr. Mordechai Kedar and Dr. Dan Gottlieb.
• The forging of alliances among the key players in the Mediterranean -- such as Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and the Balkan states -- is equally crucial in the endeavor to stabilize Libya. Ankara's questionable ties with the violent Islamist forces in Libya, however, demonstrate that Turkey currently has little, if anything, to contribute to stabilization.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when an armed revolt during the "Arab Spring" led to the ouster and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Pictured: Anti-Gaddafi rebels take positions while fighting government troops on March 9, 2011 near Ras Lanuf, Libya. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Turkey was miffed. A Turkish delegation, including Vice President Fuat Oktay, stormed out of a recent two-day international conference in Palermo, Italy, held to deal with the crisis in Libya, on the grounds that it was not included in an unofficial meeting.

Claiming that Turkey was purposely being "excluded" from the meeting between eastern Libyan military officer Khalifa Haftar and other conference participants, Oktay released the following written statement:

"Unfortunately, the international community has not acted as one body today. Through a last-minute fait accompli, some people exploited the Italian hosting and intervened in the process one-sidedly...

"Unlike others, we are open to wider dialogue with all Libyan and regional actors...It is impossible for conferences like these to contribute to the process without Turkey's participation..."

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