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Turkey’s Libya strategy: cure has become worse than disease

The only positive outcome of Turkey’s "tension strategy" on Libya has been paving the way for the Berlin Libya conference on Jan. 14.
BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19, 2020: Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Frances President Emmanuel Macron, Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L-R front), and US Secretary General Mike Pompeo (3rd L back) pose for a group photograph during a photo session at an international summit on Libya; the summit is to discuss efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation between Libya's government and General Haftar. Mikhail Metzel/TASS (Photo by Mikhail Metzel\TASS via Getty I

Turkey’s Libya strategy seems to have produced many side effects with the situation on the ground rapidly escalating.

Turkey’s hard power tactics on Libya perhaps paved the way for the Berlin summit by provoking the international community to take action against Turkey’s unilateral moves, but the final communique that the foreign powers agreed on during the conference are conflicting with Ankara’s interests and military plans. The provision that envisages sanctions on parties that break the United Nations arms embargo is effectively blocking Turkey’s military venture. The communique also calls for a formation of a unity government that is recognized by the war-torn country’s Tobruk-based parliament that strongly opposes the military cooperation and maritime boundary agreements that Turkey signed with the Fayez al-Sarraj-led Government of National Accord (GNA).

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