A high-profile visit by Libya’s new interim prime minister, complete with economic accords, has cheered Turkey up, but Ankara's interests in the war-torn country remain far from guaranteed amid a flurry of rival diplomacy ahead of Libya’s elections in December.

The formation of a new unity government in Libya earlier this year has eroded Turkey’s decisive influence over Tripoli under the previous administration, which drew on Turkish military support to save Tripoli from falling and then make gains on the battlefield against rival eastern forces, backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

To make the most of the transition process by the Dec. 24 elections, Turkey has pinned hope on Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, who took office in mid-March. Dbeibeh received a red-carpet welcome in Ankara on April 12-13, unlike Mohammed al-Menfi, the head of Libya’s new presidency council, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chose to greet without a ceremony last month. Fourteen ministers, along with the chief of general staff, accompanied Dbeibeh in the talks, framed as a meeting of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two sides.

While the talks focused on economic cooperation, a joint statement emphasized the need to preserve Libya’s territorial and political unity and reaffirmed support for the cease-fire and the election process. Ankara secured Dbeibeh’s commitment to the maritime demarcation and military cooperation accords it had signed with Tripoli in November 2019, but its implications remain questionable. The two sides “emphasize the importance [of the accords] for the common interests of the two countries, reaffirm the validity of the principles they contain and declare their intent to advance them,” the statement said.