Turkey-US Cooperation on Libya Faces Maritime Test Amid Push for National Unity

Turkey and the United States are drawing closer in their efforts to stabilize Libya by supporting a political settlement between the country's rival eastern and western administrations. However, the durability of their cooperation could ultimately depend on Washington's position on Ankara's controversial 2019 maritime agreement with Libya, according to reporting by Barin Kayaoglu for Al-Monitor.

A series of high-level diplomatic engagements has highlighted Washington's renewed focus on Libya. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently met Saddam Hifter, deputy commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), just days after holding talks with Government of National Unity (GNU) Deputy Defense Minister Abdulsalam al-Zubi. Earlier, US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Cairo, where the officials reaffirmed their support for Libya's sovereignty, unity and long-term stability.

According to Kayaoglu's report for Al-Monitor, these back-to-back diplomatic contacts reflect an increasingly active US effort to reunify Libya's rival political institutions. A widely discussed power-sharing proposal would reportedly place Saddam Hifter, or another figure from eastern Libya, at the head of a presidential council, while Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah would either remain in office or be replaced by his nephew, Ibrahim Dbeibah.

Despite the growing convergence between Ankara and Washington, Turkey's strategic interests extend well beyond Libya's internal political settlement. A critical issue is whether the United States will eventually support Turkey's 2019 maritime delimitation agreement with the Tripoli-based government or continue backing the competing maritime claims of Greece and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean.

Libya has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO intervention that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. In the years that followed, rival political and military authorities emerged, with the internationally recognized government based in Tripoli and eastern institutions aligned with Khalifa Hifter's LNA in Benghazi.

Turkey's military intervention in late 2019 proved decisive after Hifter's forces, backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Greece and Russia, launched an offensive to capture Tripoli. Turkish drones, military advisers and special forces helped repel the assault, paving the way for a UN-brokered ceasefire in October 2020 that froze the front lines and effectively formalized Libya's east-west divide.

Since then, Ankara has steadily expanded contacts with eastern Libya while maintaining its strong partnership with the Tripoli-based authorities. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin's recent visit to Libya underscores Ankara's efforts to preserve its influence across both sides while protecting its security interests and long-term economic investments.

As reported by Al-Monitor, Turkish and American initiatives have increasingly converged in recent months. Rival Libyan military forces have participated in exercises supported by both countries, while eastern and western authorities approved a US-brokered public spending framework earlier this year—the country's first unified budget arrangement since 2013. Diplomatic engagement with competing Libyan factions has also intensified.

Even so, analysts caution against interpreting this overlap as a fully coordinated strategy. Karim Mezran, director of the North Africa Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told Al-Monitor that Turkey's Libya policy is shaped as much by domestic political considerations and commercial interests as by its relationship with Washington. Turkish companies are still seeking to recover an estimated $16 billion in unfinished contracts and unpaid claims dating back to the collapse of the Gaddafi government, making improved ties with eastern Libya economically significant.

A Turkish official, speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, described the maritime dispute as the ultimate test of US-Turkey cooperation in Libya. According to the official, Ankara will closely watch whether Washington endorses the Turkey-Libya exclusive economic zone (EEZ) agreement or sides with Greece and Egypt over competing claims in the eastern Mediterranean.

Although a diplomatic breakthrough on competing maritime claims could ease one of the region's most persistent geopolitical disputes, Libya's fragile political landscape suggests that both national reconciliation and broader regional accommodation remain distant goals.