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Türkiye's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the East Libya-based Libyan National Army (LNA), in Benghazi, security sources said Tuesday, as competing tracks toward unifying Libya's divided governance gained momentum.
Kalin, head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), held talks with Haftar on issues related to maintaining peace in Libya.
The meeting addressed efforts to unite Libya's eastern and western administrations and military forces under a single authority.
Türkiye-Libya relations were also discussed, along with steps to expand cooperation and strengthen the partnership between the two sides.
The Kalin-Haftar meeting came as 104 members of Libya's House of Representatives (HoR) announced their support for a U.S. plan aimed at merging Libya's rival governments under a single authority.
The lawmakers outlined their position in two separate statements, the first issued Saturday by 47 members, the second Monday by 57 members.
Libya's House of Representatives officially comprises 200 legislative seats. However, the active count has dropped to approximately 155 due to member deaths, resignations, membership revocations, and the inability to hold elections in certain conflict-affected areas.
According to widely circulated reports, the U.S. initiative, presented by Massad Boulos, senior adviser to President Donald Trump for Middle East and African Affairs, calls for merging the "Government of National Unity," led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and based in Tripoli, with the House of Representatives-appointed government led by Osama Hammad in Benghazi, into a single government under Dbeibah.
Under the plan, a new Presidential Council would be formed under the leadership of Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the eastern-based forces.
In their statements, the lawmakers affirmed support for all efforts aimed at ending Libya's political and institutional division and enabling the Libyan people to exercise their right to choose their representatives through free, fair and democratic elections.
They described the U.S. initiative as a step that could move the political process forward, stressing the importance of unifying state institutions and strengthening stability toward a comprehensive resolution of the Libyan crisis.
Libya is currently divided between two competing governments: the Government of National Unity, led by Dbeibah and based in Tripoli, which administers the entire western part of the country, and a second government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022, led by Hammad and based in Benghazi, which administers the entire eastern part of the country and most southern cities.
The U.N. Support Mission in Libya has for years led efforts aimed at bringing the country to elections to resolve the standoff between the two governments.
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