In recent weeks, Turkish influence in the Libyan file has accelerated, by announcing a military cooperation agreement and requesting a parliamentary mandate to send troops to Tripoli.
While the Turkish government is awaiting a parliamentary mandate to act militarily, talks are continuing with the Russians to avoid a clash between the two sides on Libyan soil.
The Turkish-Russian disagreement with regard to the Libyan file became clear on the surface, as the statements of officials in Moscow and Ankara reflected the size of the differences, to keep its management mechanism open to more than one possibility.
The picture is expected to become clearer further with Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey, and his talks with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in January, including discussing Turkey's decision to send special forces, advisers and military equipment to Libya.
The Turkish president had announced that his government had requested an authorization from Parliament to send troops to Libya to support the reconciliation government in the face of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter.
In this context, a special source from the Communication Department of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey told Al-Jazeera Net that Ankara is communicating with Moscow in order to explore ways to avoid any possible clash, provided that the Libyan file will be present at the meeting of Putin and Erdogan on January 8.
He confirmed that President Erdogan's surprise visit to Tunisia on Wednesday was the culmination of the success of the Turkish delegation's visit to Moscow and understanding on some issues in the Libyan file.
The source added that "Turkey will send military advisers, equipment and weapons for air defense, and is studying the dispatch of battleships from the navy to Libyan territorial waters, in order to avoid the Al-Wefaq government losing Tripoli at a minimum."
He explained that if Egypt or the UAE intervened militarily to resolve the matter on the ground in Libya, then Turkish special forces would participate with advanced aid to repel this interference.
Ghassan Salama, the UN envoy to Libya, considered that Russian support for Haftar increased the momentum of his attack on Tripoli.
Consulting and intelligence
Turkish reports confirmed that Ankara prefers the option to send advisers from Sadat International Defense Consulting, which identifies itself on its website as the first and only company in Turkey to provide advisory services and military training in the field of international defense.
It is noteworthy that the company was founded by retired officers from various units of the Turkish Armed Forces, headed by retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanverdere. She started her work after it was announced in the Official Gazette on February 28, 2012.
In an article for the Corcusz newspaper, Turkish journalist Ahmed Takan said, "According to information obtained from reliable sources in the corridors of the government in Ankara, an important former element of Turkish intelligence was sent to Libya after the signing of the cooperation agreement between Turkey and Libya."
He added, "I will not mention his name, but in a nutshell he is one of the most trusted figures of Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan."
large numbers
In this context, the researcher and writer close to the Turkish government, Sinan Soylmaz said, "In the absence of land contact between Turkey and Libya and after the relatively distance, any Turkish decision to send forces to Libya will relate to sending large numbers of the army with significant military and logistical reinforcements and the opening of an air transport line. And my navy to assign these forces. "
"It is not militarily possible to send these large numbers of the army without providing them with adequate protection."
Swilmaz pointed out, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the recent stances, specifically with regard to the approval of the security agreement by the government of Accord with Turkey, are aimed at strengthening Erdogan's stance before his meeting with Putin.
He expected Ankara to seek concessions from Moscow in Libya, in exchange for concessions in Syria, meaning Russia's "pressure" on Haftar so that he would not storm Tripoli, in exchange for Ankara allowing the Syrian regime to consolidate its positions in the de-escalation zone in Idlib.
"One indication of the urgency of Moscow and Ankara to reach compromises is that, in the middle of last week, Erdogan sent a high-level delegation to Moscow that included two deputy foreign and defense ministers, and representatives of Turkish intelligence, as they discussed the situation in Libya and Syria," the researcher added.
Source: Al-Jazeera
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