Athens is racing to make up for at least two years of inaction on Libya, as the introduction for consideration of the Turkey-Libya Memorandum in the Tobruk parliament has set off alarm bells on the Greek side.

Most likely today, Foreign Minister Giorgios Gerapetritis will have the first telephone contact with the Speaker of the Tobruk Parliament, Akila Saleh, while the Greek Ambassador in Tripoli arrives in Benghazi for contacts with both A. Saleh and with the new rising star of Eastern Libya, Saddam Haftar, the successor of Khalifa Haftar, who has now assumed a leading role as head of the Libyan National Army, founded by his father.

The Foreign Minister is seeking to visit both Tripoli and Benghazi to rebuild relations with the neighbouring country, which remains in deep crisis, with the two governments in western and eastern Libya in constant confrontation as UN initiatives to resolve the political problem and hold elections to elect a legitimate, permanent and representative government are currently making no progress.

For Greece, it is crucial to ensure, after a period in which there has been a lack of contacts with both sides, channels of communication and to seek understanding on key issues such as the delimitation of maritime zones and migration, as migratory flows are now directed towards Gavdos and Crete, starting from the Libyan coast.

According to information, in preparation for the visit of G. According to information, the Greek Ambassador in Tripoli, N. Garilidis, will be in Benghazi today for contacts with the authorities of Eastern Libya. It is the same authorities that in 2019, in the context of the internal conflict in the country, disapproved the Turkish-Libyan Memorandum, which was a quid pro quo from the Tripoli government to Turkey to secure military support and to repel General Haftar’s offensive aimed at taking Tripoli and overthrowing the interim government of Al-Sharaj.

Eastern Libya, as well as Tripoli, had been off the radar of Greek diplomacy, with the result that Greece was caught off guard by the news that the Turkish-Libyan Memorandum had been introduced for consideration in Parliament. If its ratification follows, it will be a serious blow, as it will ensure its internal “legitimacy” and create a fait accompli even for whatever government emerges after the political crisis is resolved.

According to reports, Saddam Haftar, son of Khalifa Haftar and one of the most powerful figures in Eastern Libya, had requested months ago to visit Athens, without any response, which created the impression that Athens is “leaning” towards the Tripoli government. Even though not only the Americans, but also important European countries such as France and Italy have restored their relations with Eastern Libya and consider Saddam Haftar as a negotiator…

It is a fact that in the past weeks there were opportunities to send messages to Benghazi and to General Haftar, as his other son, Al-Sadiq, had obtained visas from the consulate in Benghazi for his family, who were on holiday in Greece and whom he visited – opportunities that Athens did not take advantage of.

Turkey has for a year now been engaged in a systematic effort to restore its relations with eastern Libya as well, seeking to maintain a distinct role in the effort to resolve the political crisis, with the aim of securing its influence after a new government is elected.

Haftar and A. Saleh have visited Ankara for high-level talks, while Haftar’s other son, Belkas Haftar, who is in charge of the reconstruction agency, is in constant contact with Ankara to attract Turkish companies to take on the difficult but profitable task of rebuilding eastern Libya after the devastating civil war and deadly 2023 floods in Derna.

According to Libya’s Fawasel Media, the prospect of the approval of the Turcolibria Memorandum by the Tobruk Parliament is far from a given, as the report states, there is serious discord among MPs, as there is strong opposition to the prospect of its ratification.

The opposition is related to the role Turkey has played in intervening in the Libyan crisis, and the parliament cannot ignore the opposition of Egypt, which remains the strongest supporter of eastern Libya at the political and diplomatic level. The positive development is that, due to this situation, no date has yet been set for a debate in Parliament on the Turcolibria Memorandum, despite the fact that it is on the agenda. This, of course, makes the Greek intervention towards the Eastern Libyan side even more urgent.