Trilateral meeting between Turkey, Italy and Libya - Vague agenda and exclusion of Greece and Egypt
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Today’s trilateral meeting between Turkey, Italy and Libya in Istanbul with a vague agenda and exclusions
A tripartite summit between Turkey, Italy, and Libya is being held today in Istanbul with a vague agenda, featuring the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. The meeting comes at a critical juncture for Libya’s political landscape, as Turkey is making overtures toward Eastern Libya in a bid to maintain its influence in the North African country.
The summit was officially announced by the Tripoli government. Sources indicate the main topics include advancing the political process for normalization in Libya and tackling the issue of migration.
In recent months, Ankara has resumed relations with Eastern Libya without withdrawing its support for Dbeibeh, seeking to consolidate its presence in the country beyond the resolution of its political turmoil. By offering assistance to both sides, Turkey aims to keep both Dbeibeh’s government and Khalifa Haftar’s faction in a dependent relationship.
One of Ankara’s goals is reportedly to pressure Eastern Libya to ratify the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum, which remains pending parliamentary approval despite already being submitted for review.
Regarding migration, Turkish drones have reportedly been used by security forces in Western Libya to strike migrant smuggling targets in the city of Sabratha—evidence of coordination among the three parties to combat smuggling networks. However, there are accusations that Dbeibeh’s government is using anti-smuggling operations as a pretext to eliminate militias that once supported it but have since turned against it.
Seeking to bolster his legitimacy, Dbeibeh recently held talks with the EU representative in Libya, as well as with the ambassadors of Greece, Italy, and Malta. In these discussions, he reportedly proposed a special role for Turkey in managing detention facilities in Libya—suggesting they be funded by the EU and Qatar, but operated and secured by Turkey.
In this context, Dbeibeh is expected to use today’s summit to solidify continued support from Erdoğan, offering broad concessions not only in terms of migration management but more broadly.
President Erdoğan is also likely to present himself as a mediator between Eastern and Western Libya, amid intensified efforts by the UN Special Envoy to find common ground that could lead to elections and restore order in the country.
Nonetheless, this tripartite summit raises concerns, as it could send problematic signals—namely, that key regional issues such as migration flows from Libya, stability in the Central Mediterranean, and critical matters like maritime zones can be addressed through a mechanism that excludes Greece and Egypt, two countries with significant stakes in the region.
