Saddam Haftar’s visit to Ankara marks shift in Turkey’s Libya policy

ISTANBUL — In a visit carrying symbolic weight, Maj. Gen. Saddam Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Ground Forces, met with senior Turkish officials in Ankara on April 4, 2025 — the anniversary of Libya’s second civil war that began in 2018.

Haftar, son of eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, was hosted by Turkish Land Forces commander Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. Defence Minister Yaşar Güler also held talks with him. The visit marks a rare instance of direct contact between the Turkish Armed Forces and the LNA, which were on opposing sides during Libya’s most recent civil conflict.

The meeting comes shortly after reports that U.S. oil giant Chevron has expressed interest in exploring a 47,000 km² area south of Crete. The designated area overlaps with Libya’s claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and aligns with Greece’s position based on the equidistance principle, as seen in the so-called Seville Map.

Greek officials have called this development a “game changer” and a sign of U.S. support for their maritime claims.

According to Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu, a senior fellow at the Abu Dhabi-based TRENDS Research and Advisory consultancy, the timing of Haftar’s visit is no coincidence.

“It appears to be Ankara’s response to Greece’s moves in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said. The visit signals a growing dialogue between Turkey and the Benghazi-based government, which had previously rejected a 2019 maritime memorandum of understanding signed between Ankara and the Tripoli government.

Çubukçuoğlu noted that Haftar agreed in principle to procure Turkish-made armed unmanned aerial vehicles and receive training and equipment for LNA forces. If this cooperation progresses, it could revive the stalled maritime deal and pave the way for Turkish hydrocarbon activity in Libyan waters—similar to Turkey’s recent moves in Somalia.

Turkish Ministry of Defence sources described the visit as a step toward reconciliation and national unity in Libya.

During the Second Libyan Civil War, Turkey provided military support to the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. This included the deployment of drones and personnel, helping the GNA repel Haftar’s forces and recapture strategic sites such as the al-Watiya airbase in 2020. The latest engagement with the LNA appears to indicate a recalibration of Ankara’s policy to include outreach to eastern Libyan actors.

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——2025年4月4日，利比亚国民军（LNA）地面部队司令萨达姆·哈夫塔尔少将访问安卡拉，会见了土耳其高级官员，此次访问具有象征意义。4月4日是利比亚第二次内战爆发周年纪念日，这场内战始于2018年。

利比亚东部强人哈利法·哈夫塔尔之子哈夫塔尔受到土耳其陆军司令塞尔丘克·巴伊拉克塔罗卢将军的接待。土耳其国防部长亚沙尔·居莱尔也与他举行了会谈。此次访问标志着土耳其武装部队与利比亚国民军之间罕见的直接接触，双方在利比亚最近一次内战中曾是敌对阵营。

此次会议召开不久前，有报道称美国石油巨头雪佛龙公司已表示有意勘探克里特岛南部一片4.7万平方公里的区域。该区域与利比亚声称的专属经济区（EEZ）重叠，并且与希腊根据等距原则划定的“塞维利亚地图”上的区域一致。

希腊官员称这一进展是“改变游戏规则的事件”，也是美国支持其海洋权益的标志。

据总部位于阿布扎比的 TRENDS 研究与咨询公司的高级研究员 Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu 称，哈夫塔尔此次访问的时机绝非巧合。

他说：“这似乎是安卡拉对希腊在东地中海行动的回应。”此次访问标志着土耳其与位于班加西的希腊政府之间的对话日益增多。此前，希腊政府曾拒绝接受安卡拉与的黎波里政府于2019年签署的海上谅解备忘录。

丘布克丘奥卢指出，哈夫塔尔原则上同意采购土耳其制造的武装无人机，并为利比亚国民军（LNA）部队提供培训和装备。如果这项合作取得进展，可能会重启陷入僵局的海上协议，并为土耳其在利比亚水域开展油气活动铺平道路——类似于土耳其近期在索马里的举动。

土耳其国防部消息人士称，此次访问是朝着利比亚和解与民族团结迈出的一步。

在第二次利比亚内战期间，土耳其向位于的黎波里的联合国承认的民族团结政府（GNA）提供了军事支持。这包括部署无人机和人员，帮助民族团结政府击退哈夫塔尔的部队，并在2020年夺回了瓦提亚空军基地等战略要地。最近与利比亚国民军（LNA）的接触似乎表明，安卡拉正在调整其政策，开始与利比亚东部各方势力接触。

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。