Senior Turkish official meets Haftar’s forces in Benghazi for first time

Khairi Al-Tamimi, Secretary General of the General Command of Haftar‘s forces, met with the Turkish military attaché to Libya and his delegation at the headquarters in Rajma, Benghazi, marking the first publicized meeting between the two sides.

Al-Tamimi shared details of the discussion on his social media, highlighting talks on potential areas of joint cooperation.

The Secretary General of the General Command, Lieutenant General Khairi Al-Tamimi, received the Turkish military attaché to Libya and his accompanying delegation at the General Command headquarters in Al-Rajma, where the meeting addressed means of joint cooperation between the two sides.

Lt. Gen. Khairi Al Tamimi’s statement on Facebook

Growing rapprochement between Türkiye and Haftar’s forces

The meeting signals a noticeable thaw in relations between Türkiye and Haftar’s forces, following months of diplomatic engagement.

This comes after Saddam Khalifa Haftar, Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces and son of Khalifa Haftar, visited Istanbul in October. During the visit, he met with Türkiye’s Minister of Defense at the “Saha Expo 2024” International Defense and Space Exhibition.

Turkish Ambassador’s visit precedes Benghazi meeting

The meeting also follows the visit of the Turkish Ambassador to Libya to Benghazi, where he held talks with Belgassim Khalifa Haftar, Director General of the Development and Reconstruction Fund of Libya, and Saqr Bujwari, Chairman of the Executive Council of Benghazi Municipality.

These engagements indicate an increasing level of diplomatic and strategic dialogue between the parties.

Talks between Belgassim Haftar and Guven Begec focused on re-engaging Turkish firms for engineering and construction efforts, reopening the Turkish Consulate in Benghazi, and resuming Turkish Airlines flights to Benina Airport.

Libya aims to leverage Turkish expertise for comprehensive reconstruction and economic recovery, highlighting a commitment to international standards and investor-friendly policies.

Saddam Haftar’s travels to Türkiye

Saddam Haftar has been traveling to Türkiye in the last months.

Experts opined that such a relationship reflects Türkiye’s more central role in Libya, in contrast to Türkiye’s unilateral support of Libya’s Tripoli-based government after Haftar’s ground-zero operation in 2019.

Speaking to Türkiye Today, a Libyan source who is familiar with the issue noted the significance of the visit, as Haftar is seen as the de facto military leader of eastern Libya after his father stepped back from day-to-day control.

The diplomatic source asserted that Türkiye has played an active role in bridging the gap between Libya’s west and east and helped facilitate a rapprochement between the two sides.

Turkish sources were unable to comment on the issue because of the sensitivity of the matter. One source noted that “Türkiye’s security bureaucracy is more active in managing relations with Libya.”