Egypt, Libya Aim to End Political Stalemate

The head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, with the Egyptian delegation (GNU)
The head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, with the Egyptian delegation (GNU)
TT

Egypt, Libya Aim to End Political Stalemate

The head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, with the Egyptian delegation (GNU)
The head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, with the Egyptian delegation (GNU)

An Egyptian high-level intelligence delegation arrived in Libya to discuss cooperation with the Government of National Unity (GNU), chaired by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh.

Dbeibeh's media office announced Thursday that he had met a high-ranking Egyptian intelligence delegation and officials as part of a visit to end the political stalemate.

Libyan political analyst Idris Ahmeed described the visit as "important" and a shift in security cooperation between Cairo and Tripoli.

The two parties discussed the results of the Egyptian-Libyan joint committee, launched two years ago, during which Dbeibeh met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

After the meeting, Dbeibeh discussed in separate meetings with government representatives launching projects implemented by the consortium of Egyptian companies after assigning construction sites, completing employment procedures, and equipping their headquarters.

The consortium comprises Orascom Construction, Pioneers of Modern Engineering, and Hassan Allam Construction.

The two parties also discussed the steps taken by Egypt to facilitate visas for Libyan citizens.

Earlier, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the recent development with his Libyan counterpart, Naglaa al-Mangoush, during the Arab ministerial preparatory meeting for the Arab League Summit.

Observers said the meeting aimed to end the stalemate in the relations between Egypt and Libya after the September 2022 incident when Shoukry withdrew from the inaugural session of the Arab League meeting at the level of foreign ministers in protest against Mangoush, who was presiding it.

Meanwhile, Libyan Minister of Transportation Mohamed Salem al-Shahoubi reviewed air transport between the two countries with the Deputy Head of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, Essam Kishk.

Shahoubi praised the "satisfactory" rate and number of flights between Egypt and Libya after they stopped entirely in 2021.

Furthermore, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of UNSMIL, Abdoulaye Bathily, received a GNU liaison team headed by the Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs, Walid al-Lafi.

The liaison team presented a cooperation proposal in support of the electoral process.

The meeting addressed supporting the cooperation between the government and UNSMIL to implement several programs that contribute to the success of the expected electoral process.

Bathily and the UNMSIL team were briefed on the efforts of the GNU Ministerial Committee to Support Elections and the various activities implemented in coordination with the High National Elections Commission.

Lafi also touched on the government's efforts to establish the General Authority for Monitoring Media Content to provide a safer media environment for elections.



Erdogan Says Türkiye Expects Allies to Pull Support from Kurds in Post-Assad Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (File/EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (File/EPA)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Expects Allies to Pull Support from Kurds in Post-Assad Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (File/EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured), Ankara, Türkiye, 04 September 2024. (File/EPA)

Türkiye expects foreign countries will withdraw support for Kurdish fighters in Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, President Tayyip Erdogan said, as Ankara seeks to isolate Kurds who have long fought alongside US troops.

Speaking to reporters on the flight home from a summit in Egypt on Thursday, Erdogan said there was no longer any reason for outsiders to back Kurdish YPG fighters. His comments were released by his office on Friday.

The Kurdish YPG has been the main force in a US-backed alliance in northern Syria, but Türkiye considers the group an extension of the PKK, which has long fought the Turkish state and is banned as terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the EU.

In his remarks, Erdogan compared the US-backed YPG to ISIS, and said neither group had any future in Syria.

"In the upcoming period, we do not believe that any power will continue to collaborate with terrorist organizations. The heads of terrorist organizations such as ISIS and PKK-YPG will be crushed in the shortest possible time."

According to Reuters, the United States still has 900 troops on the ground in Syria working alongside the YPG-led alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF played a major role on the ground defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards Islamist fighters in prison camps.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the YPG-led SDF in northern Syria, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the fighters.

Hostilities have escalated since Assad was toppled less than two weeks ago, with Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs seizing the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9, prompting the United States to broker a fragile ceasefire.

Erdogan told reporters that Türkiye wanted to see a new Syria in which all ethnic and religious groups can live in harmony. To achieve this, " ISIS, the PKK and its versions which threaten the survival of Syria need to be eradicated", he said.

"The PKK terrorist organization and its extensions in particular have reached the end of their lifespan," Erdogan added.

On Thursday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told Reuters that Kurdish fighters from outside Syria who had joined the group's ranks would leave if a truce were agreed with Türkiye, long one of Ankara's major demands.

In his remarks, Abdi acknowledged for the first time that Kurdish fighters from other countries - including PKK members - had been assisting the SDF, but said they would no longer be needed under a truce.

A Turkish Defense Ministry official said there was no talk of a ceasefire between Türkiye and the SDF, adding that Ankara would continue taking counter-terrorism measures until "the PKK/YPG lays down its arms and its foreign fighters leave Syria".