Erdogan's deceitful trick to remain in Libya

Foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council gathered in Berlin last week to discuss the implementation of the Libyan ceasefire agreement, including elections scheduled for December and the withdrawal of foreign troops.

International calls for the withdrawal of foreign fighters from the country were echoed in the final text of the meeting as well. Turkey, however, used Syrian mercenaries as a bargaining chip in its bid to keep troops in Libya.

Turkey pushed for the text of a joint statement to include a reference to “all mercenaries” rather than “all foreign forces” leaving Libya, in a bid to secure the presence of the Turkish troops on the ground, yet its demand was denied by Egypt.

Turkey’s objections indicate that Ankara is also supporting a gradual withdrawal in coordination with Russia. The simultaneous withdrawal of Syrian fighters from both camps might give Ankara time to prolong the presence of the Turkish troops in the country.

While Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush has kept a firm stance on the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country, the head of the unity government, Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, who was in close contact with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during the conference, made a distinction between foreign fighters and mercenaries.

Analysts also raised concerns in Libya over Turkey’s growing economic influence on the back of its military intervention. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call on his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev for joint investments in the Libyan energy sector has irked many in the country, leading to questions over Turkey’s respect for Libya's sovereignty.

Ankara's policies are widening the divide between rival Libyan actors and expanding the anti-Turkey front in the international arena. they added.

A US report said the presence of thousands of Syrian mercenaries sent by Turkey to Libya to fight was likely to degrade security and generate backlash from the Libyan public.

Turkey also deployed several hundred regular troops to Libya, including operators and technicians for Turkish air defense systems deployed in western Libya, the report said.

"The presence of Syrian mercenaries will continue to negatively affect the overall security situation in Libya,” said the report.

Analysts believe that US president Biden administration’s support of the UN’s road map indicates the days that Turkey imposed its own realities on the ground have long gone.