October 28, 2026
Turkish diplomatic and military movements in the Libyan file entered a new phase, after the capital, Ankara, hosted unprecedented direct talks between representatives of the two competing administrations in the east and west of the country, in a serious effort to reunite the country that has been suffering from ongoing division for years, in parallel with Turkey’s push for a broader strategic project in the Mediterranean that has displeased Greece and Cyprus.
In the details of these developments, a Turkish official revealed today, Wednesday, citing a report by journalist Eli Leon in the Israeli newspaper “Maariv” and based on Agence France-Presse, that Ankara hosted last week a round of talks between the two Libyan parties. The official explained that the ultimate goal of these contacts is to reunify the country, stressing at the same time that no final agreement has been reached yet.
The discussions, in which military and diplomatic officials from both sides participated and in which Turkey assumed the role of mediator, focused mainly on unifying the military institution, with the issue of political unity being discussed at a later stage.
Libya has been witnessing a state of continuing instability since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, and it is currently divided between the internationally recognized government by the United Nations, based in Tripoli, and a rival administration in the east that enjoys the support of the military commander, General Khalifa Haftar. Despite Turkey’s clear support for the Tripoli government during the years of conflict, recent years have witnessed a rapprochement and noticeable improvement in Ankara’s relations with the authorities of eastern Libya, making it one of the few countries capable of maintaining active and effective channels of communication with both parties at the same time.
In the same context, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paved this path last Friday, considering that the time has come to reunite the two competing administrations. Fidan said, during a press conference after hosting a meeting in Istanbul that included senior diplomats from Europe and regional powers: “We have now reached a stage where the conditions are ripe to ensure the permanent unification of the East and the West.” He added, “One of the most important pillars of national unity is how to place the military units, which the two parties currently control separately, under one umbrella,” concluding his statements by saying: “You will very soon hear good news about this matter from Türkiye.”
Turkish moves are not limited to internal mediation, as they are consistent with the “Blue Homeland” doctrine that Ankara adopts to consolidate its influence and maritime control in the Mediterranean. As part of this strategic direction, the Libyan Parliament located in the east of the country, last week, ratified an agreement to demarcate the maritime borders with Turkey, after many years of rejecting it when it was signed for the first time.
This development has sparked widespread anger in Greece and Cyprus, at a time when international pressure is increasing, especially from the United States and the United Nations, to advance the reunification of oil-rich Libya. Thus, Ankara continues its movements on two parallel tracks that combine arranging the Libyan interior by unifying its political and military parts, and consolidating its strategic position in the eastern Mediterranean through maritime agreements that serve its regional vision.
