Turkey and the United States are in consultations about the situation in Libya as well as the political process, Washington’s envoy to the North African country said, as the rift between the east and the west continues.
U.S. ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland said that he visited the capital Ankara "to consult with allies" like Turkey.
"It is an opportune time to consult with allies like Turkey. These talks, as with my meetings in Cairo last week, will help inform our approach on Libya," Norland told Anadolu Agency (AA) in a written interview.
Noting Turkey’s important role in Libya, Norland said, "I greatly value my consultations with Turkish counterparts."
Now is "an especially timely moment to compare notes," the U.S. diplomat said, adding that Libya is "polarized internally as it struggles to move toward elections," and Russia's war on Ukraine is "having ripple effects in the region."
On these effects, Norland said Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine is a reflection on a massive scale of the destabilizing role" Russian Wagner Group mercenaries have played in Libya and the Sahel region.
"They tried to topple the government in Tripoli and interfered in the elections scheduled for Dec. 24," he said, adding that the war in Ukraine had also had negative economic impacts in Libya, such as rising food prices.
"It is not even clear who speaks for Russian policy on Libya – the Foreign Ministry or Wagner?"
Norland also said the U.S. was aware of reports that the mercenaries are being transferred from Libya to Ukraine to fight for Russia, as well as reports of Moscow's attempts to recruit foreign fighters against Kyiv.
Formed back in 2014 in Ukraine and owned by businessperson Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group is intensely involved in several conflicts.
The group made its presence most pronounced in Syria and Libya, where Russia actively participated in the civil war and reportedly used the Wagner Group as its proxy in the region.
Foreign mercenaries and arms have poured into the country since putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar launched his offensive, with Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) serving as the putschist general's top suppliers. There are still around 7,000 Wagner mercenaries in Libya, according to a statement made by the head of Libya’s High Council of State Khalid Mishri on Dec. 12, 2021.
"If true, this represents a further escalation in Putin's unjustified, unprovoked, premeditated war on Ukraine and further shows how the Russian government is pulling from its destructive, destabilizing playbook in Syria," he said.
"Russia's focus should be stopping the war it started rather than bringing more combatants and more suffering to the people of Ukraine," added the official.
Norland also voiced concern on an ongoing political spat in Libya after the Tobruk-based parliament gave confidence to a new government headed by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha – a move disputed by sitting Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who insists on remaining in his post.
"Our greatest concern about this standoff is that it has taken the focus away from what the Libyan people truly want, which is parliamentary and presidential elections as soon as possible," he said.
Though both sides have vowed to avoid using force, "there is always the risk of a clash leading to escalating violence, which would be a tragedy for the Libyan people," warned Norland.
"We are urging both parties to negotiate in order to resolve this impasse peacefully," he urged.
Noting that various partners, including Turkey, have offered to host talks on the matter, and that U.N. special adviser to the secretary-general, Stephanie Williams, has offered to facilitate negotiations, the U.S. envoy expressed the U.S.' strong support for such efforts.
Libya's political crisis escalated since the deferment of the scheduled elections in December that was planned as part of a peace process to reunite the country after years of chaos and war following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
An interim Government of National Unity, which Ankara backs, was installed last year to oversee the run-up to elections and reunify divided state institutions.
When the elections couldn't take off, the House of Representatives of the parliament in the east based in Tobruk, said that the government's term had expired and it designated a new administration and set elections for next year.
A date for a new election has not been set however, Dbeibah said he plans to hold elections in June.
Norland also touched on possible U.S. initiatives related to oil fields in Libya currently blocked for political reasons as the global oil supply problems become more acute.
It is "the worst time to block Libyan oil production," he said, adding that Libyans could have benefited from the current high prices and global markets that "need the oil."
"But the polarized political situation in Libya does raise the risk that competing political forces will try to gain control of the oil revenues," cautioned the envoy.
He said this was why the U.S., along with its various partners, is proposing a mechanism to "manage oil revenues until agreement is reached on the broader political issues."
According to Norland, their proposed mechanism would only dispense oil revenues "on salaries, subsidies, oil production and key imported goods such as food and medicine – and this would be done with full transparency and accountability."
