Turkey Calls on US to Play ‘More Active Role’ in Libya

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
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Turkey Calls on US to Play ‘More Active Role’ in Libya

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters

The United States needs to play a more active role in Libya, both in achieving a ceasefire and in political talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

The involvement of the United States in Libya, a NATO ally, was important to protect the alliance’s interests, Cavusoglu said in an interview with broadcaster NTV.

Turkish and US officials would discuss possible steps on Libya, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed during a call on Monday, he added.

“Only a lasting ceasefire under UN auspices would be acceptable,” he stressed, dismissing a ceasefire proposal by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Trump also discussed Libya with Sisi on Wednesday, including means to resume UN ceasefire talks and the departure of all foreign forces from the country.

Turkey supports Fayez al Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which is involved in ongoing clashes with Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).

Haftar will “certainly disappear” if he loses support, Turkey's Defense Minister said on Wednesday, justifying his country’s military presence in Libya as due to an “invitation received from the GNA.”

As Turkey stands against Haftar, it is aiding the Libyan government with military training, cooperation and advisors, Hulusi Akar noted.

He said in a television interview that Turkey is making double efforts to bring peace throughout Libya.

Regarding Russia, Akar said Moscow has refuted reports on its forces’ presence in Libya, saying Ankara holds dialogues with it on the war-torn country.

Turkish-Russian dialogue on Libya will reflect positively on the country’s future, he said, affirming that bilateral talks are taking place at all levels.



US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

 A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

 A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

The US on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's transitional government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid after opposition factions ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month.

The US Treasury issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The move does not lift sanctions on the nation that has been battered by more than a decade of war, but indicates a limited show of US support for the new transitional government.

The general license underscores America's commitment to ensuring its sanctions “do not impede activities to meet basic human needs, including the provision of public services or humanitarian assistance,” a Treasury Department statement reads.

Since Assad's ouster, representatives from the nation's new de facto authorities have said that the new Syria will be inclusive and open to the world.

The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaeda, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster. The US and UN have long designated HTS as a terrorist organization.

HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.

Much of the world ended diplomatic relations with Assad because of his crackdown on protesters, and sanctioned him and his Russian and Iranian associates.

Syria’s infrastructure has been battered, with power cuts rampant in the country and some 90% of its population living in poverty. About half the population won’t know where its next meal will come from, as inflation surges.

The pressure to lift sanctions has mounted in recent years as aid agencies continue to cut programs due to donor fatigue and a massive 2023 earthquake that rocked Syria and Türkiye. The tremor killed over 59,000 people and destroyed critical infrastructure that couldn’t be fixed due to sanctions and overcompliance, despite the US announcing some humanitarian exemptions.