Russian
President Vladimir Putin (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
attend an inauguration ceremony of a new gas pipeline "TurkStream" on
January 8, 2020 in Istanbul | Sergey Guneev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
As EU
stumbles, Putin and Erdoğan take charge in Libya
Russia and
Turkey exert newfound influence as West confronts fallout of Trump’s chaos.
By DAVID M.
HERSZENHORN 1/8/20, 9:30 PM CET Updated 1/9/20, 11:28 PM CET
The EU can
step up or sit back down, but Russia and Turkey have taken charge — at least
when it comes to Libya.
Minutes
after European Council President Charles Michel vowed Wednesday that the EU
would "step up" its efforts to halt "worrying military
escalations" in Libya, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a cease-fire to begin at midnight
Sunday.
"In
the current critical conditions and in the light of the goals defined by
relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, we decided to take the initiative
and, as mediators, call on all parties in Libya to cease hostilities,'"
Erdoğan and Putin said in a joint statement issued after the two leaders met
Wednesday in Istanbul.
Moscow and
Ankara are now well-positioned to demand and enforce the halt in fighting,
having supplanted France and Italy as the most influential external actors in
the Libyan conflict by deploying hard power capabilities, including weapons and
military operatives.
Russia has
long supported the militiaman Khalifa Haftar, a former army general, whose
forces have laid siege to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, since early last year in
an effort to wrest control of the country from the U.N.-recognized government
led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Turkey has just sent military forces in
support of Sarraj and his government.
Appearing
with Assad, Putin noted the "regrettably" increased tensions in the
Middle East, but crowed happily about the situation in Syria.
The
cease-fire declaration, issued as Michel and other EU leaders met with Sarraj
in Brussels, provided a stunning display of the diminished geopolitical
influence of Western powers whose 2011 bombing campaign ultimately led to the
ouster and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s longtime dictator.
The meeting
in Istanbul came a day after Putin made a surprise trip to Damascus, where he
met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a visit that showcased Russia's success
in helping the Syrian strongman survive an eight-year-long civil war, often
showing no regard for the many thousands of civilian casualties or millions
displaced from their homes.
The visit,
on Orthodox Christmas, appeared something of a gift from Putin to himself,
highlighting the extent to which Russia has become the dominant military power
in the Middle East — just as U.S. President Donald Trump is tangled in a
escalating conflict with Iran, having withdrawn American forces from Syria and
under new pressure to make a similar exit from Iraq.
Appearing with Assad, Putin noted the
"regrettably" increased tensions in the Middle East, but crowed
happily about the situation in Syria.
"As
for Syria, thanks to your efforts, our joint actions, the situation, of course,
has radically changed," Putin said. "The situation has not just
changed fundamentally; in fact, we are witnessing the restoration of Syrian
statehood, of Syria as a single, integral state, a unified country."
Wednesday's
visit to Istanbul underscored how Russia and Turkey, which is a member of NATO,
have become increasingly close partners in recent months, particularly in
opposition to Trump's erratic actions in the Middle East. And it showed how the
recent chaos created by the U.S. in the Middle East has left European leaders
fumbling to respond.
The joint
statement by Erdoğan and Putin opened with a condemnation of U.S. actions in
Iraq, including the drone strike that killed senior Iranian general Qassem
Soleimani.
"We
are deeply concerned about the escalation of tension between the U.S. and Iran,
as well as its negative consequences for Iraq," Erdoğan and Putin said,
describing the U.S. operation on January 3 as "an act that undermines
security and stability in the region."
Then,
citing Iran's retaliatory missile strike, they also called for de-escalation of
the conflict.
"We
believe that exchanging strikes and using force by either side does not
contribute to finding solutions to the complex problems of the Middle East and
lead to a new round of instability, not meeting any interests," they said.
"We have always opposed foreign interference and intercommunal
conflicts."
But for the Russian leader, in particular, the effort
to portray Washington and the West as outlaw actors is hardly new.
That Putin,
whose air forces repeatedly dropped barrel bombs on Syrian civilians, and
Erdoğan, who has ordered mass arrests of jurists and journalists in his own
country, would be in a position to take the moral high ground and demand
"common sense" and a "priority to diplomatic means" shows
just how thoroughly Trump has upended the geopolitical landscape.
But for the
Russian leader, in particular, the effort to portray Washington and the West as
outlaw actors is hardly new.
Putin has
harbored an intense grudge against the West over the 2011 bombing campaign in
Libya, arguing that the U.S. and its European allies used the authorization to
enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions as a pretext for violent regime
change.
His joint
statement with Erdoğan on Libya expressed support for the series of peace talks
known as the Berlin process, but it also stressed Libya's right to settle its
own affairs, while reiterating the important role of the U.N.
"We
reaffirm our strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial
integrity and national unity of Libya," the leaders said. "Lasting
peace and stability in this country can only be achieved through a political
process led and implemented by the Libyans and based on a sincere and inclusive
dialogue between them."
Long before
Turkey voted to send military forces to Libya, Sarraj had appealed to Europe
for help — a plea that mostly went unanswered.
And
diplomatically, the EU's slow response to the intensified fighting in Libya in
recent days is illustrated clearly by the agendas of Europe's top leaders.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Putin to discuss Libya and other issues on
Saturday, while Michel is scheduled to visit Erdoğan in Istanbul that same day,
and then travel on to Cairo to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
French
President Emmanuel Macron spoke individually by phone with Putin and with
Erdoğan on Friday, after the U.S. drone strike on Soleimani, and in each case
the French leader addressed the Libya issue, but no serious steps were
announced after either conversation.
In yet
another sign of the EU's uneven response, a meeting between Sarraj and Italian
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, scheduled for Wednesday evening in Rome, was
scrapped, apparently because Conte had met earlier in the day at the Chigi
Palace with Haftar.
On
Wednesday, in a statement following Michel's meeting with Sarraj, the Council
president's office said: "The European Union will step up efforts towards
a peaceful and political solution." The statement said that Michel had
condemned recent attacks in Libya and "reiterated that the European Union
has always and consistently supported the Government of National Accord as the
legitimate government of Libya and that the EU stands ready to provide all
possible support to the political process."
The German
foreign minister, Heiko Maas, who also met Sarraj in Brussels on Wednesday,
said the Libyan leader had voiced "full support" for the peace
process. But even as Maas called publicly for a cease-fire and arms embargo,
which he said is an "essential precondition" to hold another round of
talks in Berlin, Putin and Erdoğan were announcing their plan for a halt in
fighting.
"Libya
must not become a second Syria, which is why we now need to embark quickly on a
political process and agree on an effective cease-fire and an arms embargo
worthy of the name," Maas told reporters outside the headquarters of the
European External Action Service, the EU's foreign policy arm.
"We are maybe facing a watershed point. The
situation is very dangerous" — Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief
European
Parliament President David Sassoli, who also met Sarraj, said he had urged an
end to the fighting in Libya.
"The
solution to the crisis cannot be a military one; it can only be through a
political process bringing together all parts of the country, under the
auspices of the United Nations and without any external interference,"
Sassoli said in a statement. "The EU is ready to play its role in
fostering dialogue between all the main actors."
The EU's
foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, who also met with Sarraj, had hoped to
visit Libya this week along with Maas, and the foreign ministers of France,
Italy and the U.K., but it was deemed too risky and the trip was canceled.
"We
are maybe facing a watershed point," Borrell said before his meeting with
Sarraj. "The situation is very dangerous."
Jacopo
Barigazzi, Rym Momtaz, Hans von der Burchard, Maïa de La Baume and Silvia
Sciorilli Borrelli contributed reporting.
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