Ankara’s new military deals with Tripoli show how it uses Libya’s internal rifts to make strategic gains.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the head of the interim government in Tripoli, signed two military deals in Istanbul on Oct. 25. Only three days before, Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the eastern-based parliament, and Khaled al-Mishri, the head of the Tripoli-based High Council of State, had agreed to take steps to unify Libya’s two rival governments and resume dialogue on holding elections.