When Tunisia's president turned down the invitation to the recent Berlin conference on Libya, he scored points with the electorate. But senior Tunisian politicians have voiced the need for Tunisia to be a part of international dialogues and raised concerns about their new president’s competence on the world stage.

Tunisia’s invitation to the much-anticipated Jan. 19 Berlin conference on the crisis in Libya came very late, just two days before the conference. According to a Tunisian Foreign Ministry statement, the invitation was rejected not simply because of its late arrival, but because Tunisia did not participate in the preparatory meetings for the conference that began in September — during which time Tunisia had been occupied with presidential and legislative elections and has subsequently failed to form a new government.

By contrast, Algeria, which received its invitation just one week before the summit, did attend. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was quoted as saying Jan. 22, “There are statements from [the head of Libya’s UN-recognized government Fayez] al-Sarraj, statements from [Libyan eastern military commander Khalifa] Hifter's side, which indicates that the only power capable of settling the problem is Algeria."

On Jan. 23, Algeria hosted foreign ministers and diplomats from Libya’s neighboring countries, including Egypt, Sudan, Mali, Niger and Chad, as well as Tunisia. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas briefed the meeting about the results of the Berlin summit. The Algiers meeting was inconclusive beyond stating, “Libya's neighbors have the responsibility to facilitate a political solution,” discussing terrorism risks and urging the warring factions to return to the UN-led peace process.