Turkish warship’s Benghazi port call cements new tack on Libya

ISTANBUL — Turkish corvette Kınalıada made a landmark visit to Libya with port calls in both Tripoli and Benghazi this month, the first time a Turkish Navy warship has visited the country’s rival power centers in a single deployment.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Defence, Kınalıada visited Tripoli port on August 17–18, 2025, where the crew held meetings with the senior Libyan defense officials.

The ministry noted that the visit was intended to conduct naval training missions with the Libyan Navy. Both sides discussed training matters and explored expanding military cooperation into other areas such as naval, air, and air defense. Following the visit, Kınalıada carried out joint drills at sea with the Libyan Navy’s fast attack craft Shafak.

Kınalıada’s next stop was Benghazi on Aug. 20–21, 2025. There, Turkish and Libyan military delegations met, with the Turkish Ministry of National Defence represented by a team led by Maj. Gen. İlkay Altındağ.

The delegation paid a visit to Maj. Gen. Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA). During the talks, the parties discussed developing military and naval cooperation, as well as exchanging technical and technological expertise, under the banner of “One Libya, One Army.”

Haftar paid a return visit to Kınalıada in Benghazi. According to a statement from his office, the visit underscored “the deep historical relations between the Libyan and Turkish naval forces, and the mutual commitment to developing them in a way that serves regional security and stability.”

Serhat Güvenç, an international relations professor at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said the Benghazi port call signaled reconciliation between Turkey and Khalifa Haftar’s camp, which had long been in competition with the Government of National Accord (GNA) previously supported by Ankara.

The visit marked the first time a Turkish naval vessel had entered a port under Haftar’s control, where it engaged in joint passage exercises — a symbolic gesture that Turkey is no longer tied to one faction but open to relations with all of Libya.

Güvenç pointed to reports that the Benghazi-based parliament, controlled by Haftar, may ratify the Memorandum of Understanding on maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya, which was originally signed between Ankara and the GNA. Such a move would represent a direct extension of this reconciliation, institutionalizing cooperation on one of the most sensitive strategic issues between the two countries.

The visits to Tripoli and Benghazi mark the culmination of long-running diplomatic efforts. During Libya’s civil war, Turkey backed the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, clashing with Haftar’s LNA. Turkish intervention in 2020 — through advisers, equipment, and drone support — enabled the GNA to repel Haftar’s advance and recapture key areas, including al-Watiya airbase.

Turkey later sought to bridge Libya’s divide, beginning with its participation in the 5+5 Joint Military Commission meetings in December 2021, followed by a second round in April 2024, and subsequent technical delegation visits that laid the groundwork for closer dialogue. Building on this process, Lt. Gen. Saddam Khalifa Haftar, commander of the LNA Ground Forces, visited Ankara at the invitation of the Turkish Land Forces commander, marking a pivotal step toward military dialogue. Haftar returned to Turkey in July during the IDEF 2025 defense exhibition, where he met with Defense Minister Yaşar Güler.

Over time, Turkey may position itself as a supplier of defense equipment for the unified Libya. With Libya likely to require rearmament and restructuring of its armed forces if a unified government takes hold, the visit also pitched the TCG Kınalıada vessel as a showcase for Turkey’s Ada-class corvettes.

Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.

伊斯坦布尔——本月，土耳其护卫舰“克纳勒阿达”号对利比亚进行了具有里程碑意义的访问，先后停靠了的黎波里和班加西港口。这是土耳其海军军舰首次在一次部署中访问该国两个相互竞争的权力中心。

据土耳其国防部称，Kınalıada 号于 2025 年 8 月 17 日至 18 日访问了的黎波里港，船员在那里与利比亚高级国防官员举行了会晤。

该部指出，此次访问旨在与利比亚海军开展联合训练任务。双方讨论了训练事宜，并探讨了将军事合作拓展到海军、空军和防空等其他领域。访问结束后，“克纳勒阿达”号与利比亚海军的“沙法克”号快速攻击艇进行了海上联合演习。

2025 年 8 月 20 日至 21 日，Kınalıada 的下一站是班加西。在那里，土耳其和利比亚军事代表团举行了会晤，土耳其国防部派出由少将 İlkay Altındağ 率领的代表团出席。

代表团拜访了利比亚国民军副司令萨达姆·哈夫塔尔少将。会谈期间，双方讨论了在“一个利比亚，一支军队”的旗帜下，发展军事和海军合作以及交流技术和工艺专长。

哈夫塔尔再次访问了位于班加西的克纳勒阿达海军基地。据其办公室发表的声明称，此次访问凸显了“利比亚和土耳其海军之间深厚的历史关系，以及双方致力于以服务于地区安全与稳定的方式发展两国海军的共同承诺”。

伊斯坦布尔卡迪尔哈斯大学国际关系教授塞尔哈特·居文奇表示，班加西港的访问标志着土耳其与哈利法·哈夫塔尔阵营之间的和解，该阵营长期以来一直与安卡拉此前支持的民族团结政府（GNA）竞争。

此次访问标志着土耳其海军舰艇首次进入哈夫塔尔控制下的港口，并在那里进行了联合通行演习——这是一个象征性的姿态，表明土耳其不再依附于任何一方，而是对与整个利比亚建立关系持开放态度。

居文奇指出，有报道称，由哈夫塔尔控制的位于班加西的议会可能会批准土耳其和利比亚之间关于海上边界的谅解备忘录，该备忘录最初由安卡拉和民族团结政府签署。此举将直接延伸两国和解进程，使两国在最敏感的战略问题之一上的合作制度化。

此次对的黎波里和班加西的访问标志着长期外交努力的最终成果。在利比亚内战期间，土耳其支持位于的黎波里的联合国承认的民族团结政府（GNA），与哈夫塔尔领导的利比亚国民军（LNA）发生冲突。2020年，土耳其通过提供顾问、装备和无人机支持等方式介入利比亚局势，帮助民族团结政府击退了哈夫塔尔的进攻，并夺回了包括瓦提亚空军基地在内的关键地区。

土耳其随后寻求弥合利比亚的分裂，首先是参加了2021年12月举行的“5+5”联合军事委员会会议，随后又参加了2024年4月举行的第二轮会议，以及之后的技术代表团访问，这些都为更深入的对话奠定了基础。在此基础上，利比亚国民军（LNA）陆军司令萨达姆·哈利法·哈夫塔尔中将应土耳其陆军司令的邀请访问了安卡拉，这标志着军事对话迈出了关键一步。哈夫塔尔于7月在2025年伊斯坦布尔国际防务展（IDEF 2025）期间再次访问土耳其，并会见了土耳其国防部长亚沙尔·居莱尔。

随着时间的推移，土耳其可能会将自身定位为统一后的利比亚的国防装备供应商。鉴于利比亚一旦组建统一政府，很可能需要重新武装并重组其武装力量，此次访问也旨在展示土耳其海岸警卫队“克纳勒阿达”号护卫舰的实力，使其成为土耳其阿达级轻型护卫舰的展示平台。

杰姆·德夫里姆·亚伊拉利是《防务新闻》驻土耳其记者。他热衷于拍摄军舰，并对海军和国防议题充满热情。他出生于法国巴黎，现居土耳其伊斯坦布尔。他已婚，育有一子。