Turkey’s intervention in Libya turns tide to Erdogan’s advantage, for now
Ankara has thrown in its lot with the Government of National Accord for reasons that have more to do with its own interests than Libya’s.
The consensus among Libya watchers is that Turkey’s involvement in the North African country has tipped the military balance in favor of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord headed by Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj.
Reports that the renegade general Khalifa Hifter is on the defensive, after months of speculation regarding what some saw as his imminent grab of power over the whole of Libya, are encouraging for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on multiple levels.
This development comes at a time when his successes on the foreign policy front have been few and far between in recent years. Developments in Libya also tie in with Erdogan’s Islamist ideological ambitions.
Ever since the 2013 coup in Egypt against President Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, Erdogan has seen the Muslim Brotherhood being rolled back across the Middle East.
