Turkey Agrees to Cease-Fire in Libya But With a Catch

Turkey and Russia, key supporters of the opposing sides in the ongoing Libyan civil war, appeared to have agreed on Wednesday to work toward an immediate cease-fire, but Turkish strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became the spoiler when he said fighting might worsen before improving. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Erdoğan adviser İbrahim Kalın stated that no agreement can be “sustainable” before the northern city of Sirte, considered the gateway to Libya’s most productive oil region, is evacuated by Libyan National Army (LNA) forces. Turkey backs the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, while the LNA, headed by Gen. Khalifa Haftar and spread out over much of the southeast, is supported by Russia, the UAE and neighboring Egypt. In recent days, hundreds of GNA army vehicles were seen mobilizing toward Sirte, after which the Egyptian parliament authorized President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to intervene militarily in the battle if he so desires.