Shortly after signing the landmark TurkStream agreement in Istanbul last week, the Russian and Turkish presidents proceeded to issue a joint statement; not surprisingly, their speech has not been limited to the colossal energy deal but highlighted the remarkable geopolitical footprint of the two sides in the south-eastern Mediterranean.

Syria as a regional example – in Putin’s words

Vladimir Putin has paid a brief last-minute visit to Damascus just before meeting Erdogan in Istanbul. According to the Russian President, Syria sets a regional example of how to achieve stability and manage a tremendous humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, in a country that has been suffering from an internal conflict for almost a decade and has been several times in the verge of collapse in the recent past. Now, as President Assad has secured his position and the country is gradually returning to a “state condition” probably for the first time since 2011, President Putin emphasized Russia’s role as a stability guarantor, and directly compared and criticized the numerous mistakes and wrong moves of the West that turned Libya to a failed state. The persistent pressure from Western countries, especially France, to topple Muammar Gaddafi, dragged the country into a grave civil war, with unprecedented consequences.

Libya; different proxies, common ground

This “Western incompetency” is also responsible for the current power vacuum in Libya, as the two Presidents have pointed from Istanbul. Two main rival fractions are dominating the Libyan front, with Moscow and Ankara putting their money on different sides this time. The Tripoli-based and UN-recognized Government of National Accord under the Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj is currently being drastically supported by the Turkish President. On the other hand, Russia stands behind General Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army, which already possesses most of the Libyan territory and most recently managed to cease control of Sirte, a port city of strategic importance, located between Tripoli and Benghazi.

Even though Erdogan and Putin have crucial differences when it comes to Libya, they managed to come up with a cease-fire proposal, just after their agreement on the TurkStream pipeline, a project that will significantly upgrade the international standing of both countries and will have a considerable geopolitical impact on Europe as a whole, considering all the energy security parameters and implications. The cease-fire proposal that has been accepted by the opposing sides in Libya, might be a fragile one, yet it is a plan that has been approved by the parties involved, putting Ankara and Moscow’s influence in the country beyond question. This is the very reason why Turkey and Russia found common ground and managed to achieve what the EU and Western powers have been failing to do so far. A cease-fire agreement makes Erdogan and Putin de facto players in the Libyan crisis negotiations, just like the way Moscow managed to establish its role in Syria, consolidating their image as international power brokers.

EU role in Libya and beyond

Vladimir Putin has also disparaged from Istanbul the Western and EU reaction to the escalating tension between Iran and the US, which has been triggered by Soleimani’s killing. Focusing on the Libyan front, in fact, the European Union has done too little too late. Even though the Tripoli government has been officially recognized by the UN and most western countries, the European Union failed to react or simply ignored Saraj’s calls for support. Therefore, the Tripoli government had to eventually turn to Erdogan for military and logistical assistance alongside diplomatic and political backing. The vital space that Ankara exploited has been created by the European absence from the crisis.

President Putin met Angela Merkel in Moscow on Saturday 11 January 2020, and the Libyan crisis has been among the top issues in their agenda, alongside their backing for JCPOA and their plans for NordStream. Regarding Libya, albeit the differences between Putin and the German Chancellor, it has been clear that both sides look forward to initiating the talks for the de-escalation of the crisis, in order to establish a functional Libyan state again. Merkel has been particularly interested in the Libyan developments, as Berlin is going to host the Libya peace conference later this month, according to German officials.

On the same day, Erdogan has welcomed in the Dolmabahçe Palace, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. President Michel embraced the Erdogan-Putin joint statement on a ceasefire and welcomed the support of the Turkish President for the Berlin peace negotiations. Erdogan has also hosted Sarraj in Istanbul on the 12^th of January; the Libyan GNA leader visited Turkey after talking with several EU leaders last week.

Currently, the situation in Libya remains highly unstable, with both sides accusing each other of breaching the fragile ceasefire agreement; the escalation of hostilities could be triggered again anytime. Numerous countries are working towards a peace plan, with all sides pointing towards a political solution, as the most appropriate -if not the only- one for the country. Whichever the course of the events is from now on, crucial developments should be expected in the days and weeks to come.

L'articolo Libya Talks After Erdogan-Putin Meeting proviene da InsideOver.

The protesters’ efforts in Algiers and other Algerian cities and towns seem to grow in the face of the approaching presidential elections, which the military vehemently backs, and which people in the streets now march against in their months-long weekly protests.

Last Friday, November 29, marked the 41^st time Algerians took to the streets in peaceful defiance of the country’s ruling elite. The protests, colloquially called “Hirak”, began during the second half of February 2019, after the former president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, announced he was to run for a fifth presidential term.

Once backed by the army, Bouteflika, who had been the country’s president since 1999, was soon compelled to resign early in April, some six weeks after the Hirak started. The protests were expected to peter out after the former president’s departure.

Yet people still took to the street in dissatisfaction with the new caretaker government and the interim president, Abdelkader Bensalah. The elections that were to be held on April were postponed to July following Bouteflika’s departure.

Amid further demonstrations, though, the Algerian Constitutional Council postponed the elections again to December. But people are still taking to the streets every Friday afternoon and in other days, such as Tuesday for students, as the December 12 elections approach.

Although seeking a “true democracy,” the protesters have objected to the upcoming elections, as they see in them an opportunity for the ruling elite to remain in power. They demand a thorough purge of the ruling hierarchy. The “they should all leave” catchphrase is still one of the demonstrations’ most recurrent.

Five candidates were promptly presented on the ballot, with the campaign having officially started by mid-November. But each of these candidates had been either prime minister or minister or senior official under Bouteflika.

“There will be no vote with the gang,” the people now chanted, deeming the candidates’ run but another ploy of the regime to save the status quo.

The protesters say the elections cannot be fair and free as long as the military and senior officials from the old ruling hierarchy, once represented by Bouteflika, remain in power.

The Hirak is leaderless and only aims at a radical change within Algeria’s politics, demanding that corruption ends and that the military quits politics.

The army, now the main actor in the country’s affairs, said the elections were the only way to restore normality, by making an end to the protest movement, and to escape the constitutional limbo that followed Bouteflika’s departure.

With only a few days ahead of the elections, the protesters appear to be stepping up demonstrations, even as the authorities ramp up the number of arrests. Late in November, protesters in Algiers and other cities took to the streets at night, defying the repression that has recently grown in regular daytime protests.

An alarming number of individuals were recently arrested in links to the Hirak, many of whom were detained after they protested against the upcoming elections or the army’s ever more patent interference in Algerian politics.

While some protesters hang garbage bags in places reserved for electioneering, others vandalized those spaces with anti-government graffiti or hanging posters of opposition figures who currently stand behind bars. Many were sentenced to 18-month prison terms on accusations of “disrupting the elections.”

Causing a sweeping controversy in Algeria, the European Parliament recently said it worried about issues of human rights and freedom in Algeria. (An overwhelming majority of Algerians on both sides – anti- and pro-government – agreed that there should not be any foreign interference in such tense times.)

Other protesters were arrested after they held Berber – an Algerian ethnic group – flags during demonstrations, and were detained on accusations of “undermining the integrity of national territory.”

Many others, coming from other cities to the capital Algiers, were often deprived of their freedom of movement, as they were denied access to Algiers during days of protests so that they would not add to the capital’s massive rallies.

The Human Rights Watch and other NGOs also said that the growing number of recent arrests aimed at weakening the people’s aspiration for democracy. The army and the establishment hope for enough participation to legitimize the new president, who would then act to bring an end to the Hirak.

L'articolo In Algeria, Tensions Flare Up as Unwanted Elections Approach proviene da InsideOver.