With a full agenda and willingness to cooperate with Greece in many sectors, primarily focusing on the reconstruction of Libya, Begassim Haftar arrived in Athens yesterday. He is one of the most powerful sons of the head of the Benghazi government in Libya, responsible for Development and Reconstruction in Khalifa Haftar’s government.
According to information from Foreign Ministry sources, Begassim Haftar expressed the crucial position of the Haftar government for developing the entire Cyrenaica peninsula. He initially communicated this request to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom he met early yesterday morning. However, in the discussions, the dominant topic was the initiation of talks to define maritime zones between the two countries, which has recently become a point of friction between them, following Libya’s verbal communications to the UN.
Haftar’s son assured Athens that the Benghazi government is ready to begin negotiations
The Greek side reiterated to the Libyan official Athens’ and the EU’s established position that the Turkish-Libyan memorandum is null and void. A senior Foreign Ministry source estimated that the non-ratification of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum by the House of Representatives so far has given the Greek Foreign Ministry room to make efforts to build “a sincere relationship” with officials from the eastern Libya government, which holds the power to ratify or reject the Turkish-Libyan agreement. The intention of both sides, as recorded in yesterday’s discussions, is to establish committees that will conduct technical negotiations on this thorny issue, as planned between Athens and Tripoli. As diplomatic sources told parapolitika.gr, Begassim Haftar assured Athens that the Benghazi government is ready to begin negotiations.
“Business delegations will travel in groups to eastern Libya”
Within the framework of the positive climate created, discussions were also held regarding our country’s contribution to the reconstruction of the North African nation. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Harris Theocharis (deputy minister responsible for economic diplomacy), who spoke to parapolitika.gr, during his meeting with Begassim Haftar “the groundwork was prepared for the business mission that will travel gradually and in groups to eastern Libya to help with projects the country needs, such as construction, energy, and water supply.”
Meanwhile, Turkey continues its influence moves in Libya. As revealed by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Marsal, developments inside the country were the main topic of the meeting between Erdogan’s close associate and head of Turkey’s Intelligence Services, Ibrahim Kalin, and his Egyptian counterpart, Hassan Rashad. As noted in the report, “the consolidation of convergence between Egypt and Turkey’s positions reduces the margin of influence of certain other regional powers in Libya.” It’s worth noting that at the end of the month, Marshal Khalifa Haftar has been invited to Constantinople to meet with the Turkish President.
