Turkiye playing positive role in Libya: Libyan party leader

TRIPOLI, Libya

Turkiye is playing a positive role in Libya, Libyan party leader Abdelhakim Belhaj said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Belhaj, the head of Al-Watan Party, said Ankara is open to dealing with all sides in Libya.

“Libya has gained economic benefits from its openness to Turkiye, which did not exclude any Libyan party,” Belhaj said.

He pointed to Turkiye’s commitment to its security and economic agreements with Libya, adding that Ankara “has achieved a balance in the country's military scene.”

Belhaj headed the Tripoli Military Council after the capital fell to the revolutionaries in August 2011.

He founded the Al-Watan Party in November 2011. In May 2012, he relinquished the presidency of the Tripoli Military Council to devote himself to political work.

Belhaj resided in Turkiye for four years but he recently returned to Libya ahead of the long-awaited elections in the oil-rich country.

The Libyan leader said there are “great opportunities and indicators of economic cooperation between Libyan institutions in the eastern region and Turkiye.”

Despite years of tension between Turkiye and Libya’s eastern authorities, Belhaj said Turkiye kept the communication channels open.

Last week, an official in the state-run Libyan Airlines said the carrier was set to resume direct flights from the country’s east to Turkiye after more than seven year hiatus.

Infighting
Belhaj said he returned to Libya upon calls from Libyan parties and national forces to prevent a looming infighting in the country.

"I will not hesitate to participate in efforts aimed to prevent fighting between Libyans,” he said, noting that dialogue is the only way out of the months-long electoral impasse.

Tension has mounted in Libya since parliament last month gave confidence to a new government headed by Fathi Bashagha, a former interior minister, while incumbent Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh insists on remaining at his post.

On Feb. 12, Dbeibeh unveiled a plan to hold elections on June 30 after failure to hold presidential and parliamentary polls on Dec. 24, 2021 amid differences over election laws.

Belhaj called on all leaders of armed groups and those of the security services in Tripoli to protect the political process and “not to get involved in a war that threatens the Libyans and ends the chances of saving the country."

Political dialogue
Touching on the role of regional and international actors in Libya, Belhaj said Libya’s relations with neighboring Egypt have improved after Libyans managed to understand the Egyptian concerns, as well as conveying Libya's worries about the nature of the Egyptian role in the country.

"We understand the dangers emanating from the poor role of the state in Libya to all Arab, African or European neighbors, but we also adhere to the right of the Libyans to choose the form of the system of government,” Belhaj said.

He encouraged Egypt and all international actors to support peace in Libya.

"As long as the international and regional parties are committed to this approach, the Libyans will at some stage reach a comprehensive agreement to chart the next stage, based on a commitment to pluralism and respect for the results of the elections that must be held in appropriate conditions," he said.

Belhaj also expressed confidence in the United Nations ability “to continue leading efforts to prevent the specter of war from returning to the country."

But he underlined the need for Libyan parties “to be flexible in their positions” to avoid any power struggle.

"What is required is to support a comprehensive political dialogue, and to reduce foreign interference, which has created dangers threatening the country's unity," Belhaj said.

He also urged the UN mission in the country “to be more courageous in exposing spoilers towards a political settlement."

Libyans are waiting for the stalled elections to take place in the hope that they will contribute to ending years of armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara