Turkey has been insisting on a Libya strategy that calls for the all-out defeat of one of the warring Libyan factions, but recent Egyptian diplomatic efforts have revealed the vulnerabilities of Ankara’s approach.
In a surprising outreach, Egypt dispatched a high-level delegation to Tripoli on Dec. 28 to Libya’s Government of National Accord; Cairo has been supporting Libya's eastern forces commander Khalifa Hifter. The newly initiated talks between the two sides, which include plans for the reopening of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Tripoli and resumption of mutual flights, have the potential to spoil Ankara's gains in the Libyan conflict, where Turkish military support has tipped the balance in favor of the Government of National Accord against the Hifter-led forces, which are also backed by the United Arab Emirates.