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World

Fidan says Libya reunification 'conditions are ripe', hints 'very good news' soon

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in Istanbul on Friday that the time had come to reunify Libya's rival eastern and western administrations under a single national army, signalling an announcement could come soon.

By James Calloway · · 1 min read

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan seated at an official diplomatic meeting table.
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

ISTANBUL: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that the time had come to reunify Libya’s rival eastern and western administrations, indicating the two sides’ militaries could come under a unified command and hoping for an announcement soon.

“We have now reached a stage where the conditions are ripe to permanently secure the reunification of the east and the west,” Fidan told journalists. “Both sides have military structures. These structures need to be brought together under a national army.”

Fidan was speaking in Istanbul after hosting his counterparts from Europe and regional countries, including Egypt. “One of the most important pillars of national unification is how the military units currently controlled separately by both sides will be brought together under a single umbrella,” he added. “God willing, you will soon hear very good news about this from Türkiye.”

Türkiye strongly backed the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, but ties with the eastern authorities have warmed significantly in recent years.

The remarks came days after Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives unanimously approved the 2019 Türkiye–Libya maritime demarcation deal it had previously rejected. The EU, including Italy and Greece, criticised the deal this week; Egypt objected that it infringes on its Mediterranean rights.

Fidan said Ankara was in a constructive position: “Türkiye, Italy, and Egypt can come together to discuss Egypt’s concerns and Libya’s concerns.” Later Friday, Turkish Defence Minister Yaser Guler told Star TV: “We are ready to sign an agreement with Egypt on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas.”

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