Egyptian support for Haftar appeared during his aggression on the capital, Tripoli, in April of last year.
The Egyptian authorities provided political and military support to Haftar’s militias throughout his failed aggression, Egyptian President Abdulfattah Al-Sisi was the first to receive Haftar after the start of the aggression in the Federal Palace in Cairo with his official uniform, as if he was waiting for Haftar to decide the battle within days.
However, the defeat of Haftar and the expulsion of his militias from the western region last June, and the signing of two military and maritime memoranda of understanding, especially with Turkey, made Egypt reconsider its calculations, and is thinking seriously about abandoning Haftar after the failure of the military project on the walls of Tripoli, the capital of the Libyans.
Egyptian initiative after the defeat
On June 6, after the defeat of Haftar’s militia, Egyptian President Abdulfattah Al-Sisi announced an initiative under the name “Cairo Declaration” after his invitation to Haftar and the Speaker of Tobruk Parliament, Aqeela Saleh.
Al-Sisi described the initiative, which received little attention, as “political, joint and comprehensive,” saying, “If everyone’s intentions are true, it will be the beginning of a new phase for the return of normal and safe life to Libya.”
Al Sisi retreated
The Egyptian President retracted his previous statements to make Sirte and Al-Jafra are red lines were passed for them, saying: The purpose of the red lines is a call for peace.
Al-Sisi added, in a press conference, that the main goal of Egypt’s efforts towards Libya is a call for peace and the start of activating a political solution, indicating that the Egyptian state is a country that calls for peace, and does not accept the division of Libya, and seeks to stop the fighting in the country.
The 5 + 5 agreement is welcomed
Last October, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the permanent ceasefire agreement in Libya reached by the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee in Geneva.
The ministry called on the countries involved in the Libyan issue to contribute to the current effort and ensure that there was no escalation, explaining that the success that was achieved today came as a continuation of the first direct meeting hosted by Egypt in Hurghada at the end of last September, according to the statement.
At the conclusion of the second round of the military committee talks “5 + 5”, on the 3 of this November, the head of the United Nations mission in Libya, Stephanie Williams, announced the signing of the committee’s agreement on several items, the most prominent of which is the formation of a military sub-committee to oversee the return of troops to their headquarters and the withdrawal of foreign forces from the contact lines, this committee will hold its first meeting in Sirte, in the presence of the 5 + 5 committee, in the near future with the presence of the mission.
Invitation for Bashagha
For the first time since the failure of Haftar’s aggression, the Egyptian authorities invited the Minister of Interior, Fathi Bashagha, who is considered one of the symbols of the reconciliation government and one of the prominent leaders who stood against the aggression from the beginning, to discuss ways of security cooperation and combating terrorism.
Bashagha stated that Haftar and his militias will not pose any threat if his backers and supporters from foreign countries abandon him, adding in an interview with the British Financial Times newspaper that there are a number of countries that were gambling on Haftar began to review their positions, pointing out that there is a change in the Egyptian position, and perhaps Russian.
