The visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to Benghazi, the capital of the Libyan revolution, marks the beginning of serious steps toward rapprochement between the two countries. Benghazi has long flown the flag of the Syrian revolution alongside Libya’s independence flag, with the two coming together in the city’s skies in solidarity with the struggle against dictatorship in both countries.
As the saying goes, “Listening is half the solution to a problem.” Accordingly, this phase of listening and direct dialogue between the Libyan and Syrian sides, particularly in Benghazi, represents an important and serious step toward breaking down the walls of isolation that some parties have attempted to erect between the two brotherly countries, whose historical ties stretch back hundreds of years.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry announced last Sunday that Shaibani had arrived in the Libyan city of Benghazi on an official visit, during which he was scheduled to hold meetings with Libyan officials. Accompanied by the head of Syrian intelligence, Major General Abdul Qader Tahhan, Shaibani met with the deputy commander of the Libyan National Army, Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar, in Benghazi, with officials from the Libyan side also attending.
The visit includes discussions on several important issues, some of which remain unresolved, including the cases of missing Syrians and Libyans. War and the chaos of the “Arab Spring” turned both countries into victims of ISIS and similar groups, with fighters and infiltrators of both Syrian and Libyan nationality moving between the two countries.
Many of them entered or crossed borders without identification documents or even authorization from the authorities of either country, resulting in many people disappearing.
The fate of these missing persons is one of the most difficult and complex issues to resolve and will require considerable time to untangle, particularly given the presence in Tripoli of Syrian armed groups that are not affiliated with the new Syrian government in Damascus. Correcting and addressing these circumstances is therefore an important step for both countries.
The timing and current circumstances in both countries offer an opportunity to improve relations, particularly in light of international and regional changes that could help ease tensions and facilitate progress on a range of bilateral issues. These include economic projects, which can serve as a strong foundation for stable and lasting relations.
Eastern Libya, and Benghazi in particular, shares historical ties, customs, traditions and a common cultural heritage with the Levant and the broader Arab East, all of which can contribute to developing Libyan-Syrian relations.
Although the visit succeeded in opening a Syrian consulate in Benghazi, establishing formal relations and initiating discussions on security issues between the two sides, some opponents of the visit, particularly those opposed to any rapprochement with the Benghazi camp, argue that the city is “Haftar’s stronghold, hostile to the Syrian revolution and the Syrian people.”
This is a historical misconception and an inaccurate claim. Benghazi was among the first Arab cities to embrace activists from the Syrian revolution, raise its flags, collect donations for it and dispatch relief teams. Medical aid convoys also departed from Benghazi. Such misconceptions were therefore intended to demonize Benghazi and the leadership of the Libyan army, which defeated ISIS and similar groups and upheld the state against chaos.
Political realism requires Damascus to engage with Benghazi, particularly on security matters. Tripoli remains fragile from a security standpoint, while the influence of militias and armed brigades remains undisciplined, making it difficult to rely on agreements with them. By contrast, the leadership of the disciplined Libyan army is based in Benghazi.
The Libyan army controls most border crossings and frontiers and secures more than 80 percent of Libyan territory across the east, south and west, with the exception of Tripoli and its surrounding areas. Direct engagement with the Libyan army’s leadership, particularly on security and intelligence matters, is therefore politically pragmatic.
Both the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the Libyan side in Benghazi seek to advance the shared interests of the two countries, which can be developed by taking an important first step: addressing the legal and logistical problems facing Syrians living in Libya and regularizing their legal status.
The Libyan-Syrian meeting in Benghazi will strengthen prospects for rapprochement and mutual understanding, improve the atmosphere between the two sides, and help resolve outstanding issues within an Arab-Arab framework, away from regional and even international interventions whose interests and influence have intersected starkly in both countries.
Libya and Syria have faced severe foreign interference in their political and economic affairs, contributing to wars, displacement and tragedies that remain deeply embedded in the memories of both peoples.
Libyan-Syrian relations will not stop at the opening of an embassy in Tripoli and a consulate in Benghazi. Rather, they are likely to expand into economic projects and joint security and defense cooperation serving the interests of the two brotherly Arab countries, away from the demons of the “Arab Spring.”
Today in Benghazi, tomorrow in Damascus or Aleppo. These meetings must continue in order to draw up a new roadmap and reorder priorities between the two countries. Such engagement can help address outstanding issues, create additional opportunities for bilateral cooperation, and develop political and economic relations in ways that will benefit both the Libyan and Syrian peoples.
