Turkey's intelligence chief meets Libyan officials as unification talks intensify

Turkey's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin hosted senior Libyan officials in Ankara, discussing steps toward merging the rival eastern and western administrations.

In Ankara, Turkish National Intelligence Organization head Ibrahim Kalin received a senior Libyan delegation that featured Deputy Defense Minister Abdulsalam al-Zoubi, security adviser Ibrahim Dbeibeh and Interior Minister Emad Trabelsi. The visitors also held separate meetings with Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Discussions covered the ongoing divide between Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the eastern authorities led by Khalifa Hifter, as well as broader regional issues and ways to expand Turkish-Libyan ties.

Kalin reiterated Turkey’s commitment to Libya’s territorial integrity and to fostering a single national framework that would unite the rival administrations. The visit coincides with intensified US-led diplomatic efforts to broker a power-sharing arrangement and follows a recent US-backed public-spending agreement for 2026. Turkey hopes the dialogue will also encourage the eastern parliament to ratify a contentious 2019 maritime deal with the Tripoli government.