On 9 March, French President Emmanuel Macron received Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) at the Elysée, for a meeting held secret, which had not even been included in the agenda. The newspaper "Le Monde" reports it. Sources close to the dossier let it be known that the visit of the Libyan general is part of the French project, determined to concretize the decisions taken at the Berlin summit on February 19, which "for the moment has produced nothing". Haftar continues to fight supported by Russia and Saudi Arabia. Also according to French sources, the general would be willing to accept the provisions contained in a document annexed to the Berlin declaration prepared by the United Nations which defines the terms of the ceasefire and which provides indications for dismantling the armed groups. The commitments made by the general have a relative value, but France at this moment wants to increase the distance between him and Moscow. Among the objectives of Paris there is also that of unblocking the oil wells of Cyrenaica, blocked by Haftar's forces since mid-January. Today Paris is trying to "saturate the political space to help the Libyans get out of the Turkish-Russian game," says a French source. To balance Haftar's visit, Paris will receive on March 17 Fathi Bachagha, Minister of the Interior of the Government of Libyan national agreement led by Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj.
Haftar would also have accepted the holding of an "inter-Libyan conference" for a political solution ", under the aegis of the UN, specifies a French source. After Paris, Marshal Haftar is expected in Berlin, where he will meet on Tuesday 10 March with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The French strategy is to widen the emerging distance between Haftar and Moscow. The Elysée also pushes for a compromise on hydrocarbons: Haftar is expected to lift the blockade of the Cyrenaica (East) wells in exchange for a more equal distribution of oil revenues among Libyan regions, without going through the Central Bank of Tripoli
The Turks have meanwhile transferred between 3.000 and 4.000 Syrian mercenaries to Libya to support the government headed by Fayez Al Serraj but are also engaged in Idlib in Syria. Haftar would like to take advantage of the many Turkish commitments to move the waters in his favor, writes Le Monde.
For Emmanuel Macron, the Libyan dossier has always had uncertain connotations. In July 2017, he received the two rivals, Sarraj and Haftar, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, also on that occasion they had committed themselves to a "ceasefire", the first of a series. In May 2018 in Paris, an "inclusive roadmap" was approved by the two men, together with the president of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, and that of the Council of State, Khaled AlMechri. The horizon was the holding of presidential and legislative elections. This reconciliation process has produced nothing since then. Marshal Haftar was then welcomed to the Elysée Palace in May 2019. Macron had asked him to "work for the establishment of a ceasefire and the resumption of political negotiations". But the head of the self-proclaimed Libyan national army has launched the offensive against Tripoli, showing that he is not at all inclined to compromise. In early March, UN special envoy, Ghassan Salamé, resigned, tired of seeing foreign interference in an already complex inter-Libyan conflict. Today, Paris seeks to "saturate the political space to help Libyans get out of the Turkish game," according to a French source. In this perspective, regional capitals - such as Algiers - could help and take on a leading role.