The fast-changing battlefield equation in Libya, is convincing enough for the US to support Turkey's attempts to safeguard the internationally-recognised government and to keep warlord Khalifa Haftar at bay.

On Monday, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, confirmed that the US government was willing to work with Ankara for what he called 'the transition process in Libya'.

"After talks with the US President [Donald] Trump on the transition process in Libya, a new era can begin between Turkey and the US," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkey's public television channel, TRT. 

"Turkey stands by Libya's United Nations-recognized government against putschist (Khalifa) Haftar and those supporting him". 

Erdogan said he would also discuss Libya's issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and highlighted recent developments that indicate Haftar's exclusion from the peace process. 

For regional experts, the US government's changing stance towards Libya, is a direct result of Haftar’s decreasing influence in Libya, his rapprochement with Russia, and Moscow's new muscle being flexed in the African continent.

“When Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and France put all their bets on warlord Haftar, they imagined a kind of Sisi-style administration in Libya and the US overlooked what Haftar was doing because of his backers,” Talha Kose, who is the chair and an Associate Professor of Political Sciences at Ibn Haldun University, told TRT World. 

It is known that Russia, the UAE and Egypt have been supporting warlord Haftar in Libya. According to Kose, if Haftar succeeded in taking control of Tripoli, which he has been trying to do since April 2019, the US would prefer to work with him despite Russia offering their support, too.

“Turkey’s intervention in Libya following the UN-backed government’s demand destroyed the plans based on Haftar and the UAE called out Russia to intervene, it followed by the US Africa Command reveal of Russian fighter jet deployments to Libya and the US saw that the existence of Russia is a clear threat against itself and NATO,” Kose said.

The US, he added, would be unwilling to take serious risks because of the upcoming elections and the siding with Turkey in Libya, would strengthen its position in the region. 

“I don’t expect military cooperation, even just a tight standing along Turkey would be enough to intimidate Haftar and his backers, the US would not risk itself by military intervention because of Trump’s current situation in the country,” Kose added. 

In light of the US's drift towards Turkey, the GNA’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmed Maetig, has previously said the US is standing by the legitimate government of Libya and urged Washington to use its influence to end illegal international support, particularly from the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia, to Haftar. 

“We are not seeking any monetary or military or financial support from the United States. We need strong diplomatic help and leadership," Maetig said last year.

"We want the United States to send a clear message to these countries that they should stay out of Libya".

Kose also believes that the conversation between UN-recognised Libyan Prime Minister, Fayez al Sarraj, and the US would mean that the country would support the GNA during the political process.

“Collaborating with Turkey in Libya against Haftar would also mean decreasing the rate of threat against NATO in terms of security in the Mediterranean in the eyes of US,” he said.