The Washington Post: Libya has taken a significant step toward a new political order

The publication stated that after ten years since the Arab spring, most Arab nations continue to suffer from the consequences of the movement with only Tunisia able to sustain some form of democracy, adding that Libya’s recent elections and ceasefire agreement are a turn for the better for the country’s seven million Libyans.

The Post called what Libya’s new government faces “monumental hurdles” starting with the work to renew the country’s basic services such as water and electricity and unifying the central bank to help fix Libya’s crumbling economy and uniting other public institutions after over a six-years-divide that has left the nation riddled in corruption and fragmentation.

It also added that while Libya is making strides towards recovery and peace, foreign powers such as turkey and Russia who continue to refuse to withdraw their forces from the oil-rich nation continue to jeopardize the fragile newly instated administration.

The Post stated, however, that despite ceasefire violations by foreign actors, diplomats and analysts following Libya’s story unfold are optimistic about what they describe “as an unlikely reversal of the country’s downward spiral.”

The article also added that Turkey stands to benefit greatly from Libya’s new regime, as the country’s new prime minister is seen as a Turkish alley after pledging to retain a maritime agreement granting Ankara potentially valuable rights.

Speaking with a senior US official, the post said that the Biden administration would reportedly be ‘leaning in’ on Libya, in what they described as a good use of diplomatic resources to potentially save at least one other country from the wreckage that followed the Arabic spring.

The post concluded by adding that while the US is not a warring party in the Libyan conflict, the Biden administration can push Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to stop shipping weapons into the country. It can help PM Debaiba restore services, fight the coronavirus pandemic and make preparations for the promised elections.