A rare attempt to broker a deal last week in Cairo between the rival governments of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Gen. Khalifa Hifter generated a lot of speculation, although the talks failed.

Delegations representing Sarraj's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and governing bodies supporting Hifter in Tobruk, arrived in Egypt for a number of meetings, including what had promised to be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in their present capacities. The talks were organized and facilitated by the Egyptian government, and were set to be chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi himself.

It is widely believed that bridging the gap between Sarraj and Hifter is the key to national reconciliation for Libya, which has been torn by civil war since Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011.

Hifter, emboldened by his expanding influence in Libya, reportedly rejected a power-sharing deal pitched by Sarraj. Under that proposal, the renegade general would become one of the official commanders of the Libyan military, although the role of commander in chief would be split among representatives of several political factions. To Hifter, Sarraj's proposal does not match the realities on the ground, where Hifter's Libyan National Army and loyal forces control between 50% and (according to Hifter's estimate) 95% of the country.