Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s trip to Libya in a new era of relations took him to a Turkish military barracks in Tripoli and a warm meeting with Saddam Haftar, the son of Khalifa Haftar, who was once Türkiye’s chief opponent in the North African country.
Fidan, who arrived in Libya on Tuesday, first visited Tripoli and met with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, prime minister of the Government of National Unity. After talks with other high-ranking officials there, Fidan visited the Libya Mission Group Command of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
On Wednesday, he flew to Benghazi, where he was welcomed at the airport by Saddam Haftar, who serves as deputy general commander of the Libyan National Army.
The top diplomat’s trip comes one day after the suspected assassination of a senior Libyan intelligence officer serving with the eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar, and amid Türkiye’s efforts to promote unity in Libya.
Libya remains divided between two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, headed by Dbeibah and based in Tripoli, which administers western Libya, and a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022, currently headed by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which administers the east and most of the south.
