Turkey defense chief meets Saddam Hifter as thaw with Libya continues

ANKARA — Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler met Wednesday with Saddam Hifter, commander of the Libyan National Army’s ground forces, as contacts deepen between Ankara and Benghazi, which hosts a rival administration to the Ankara-backed government in Tripoli.

What happened: Guler and Hifter met in Istanbul on the sidelines of IDEF25, a major annual defense fair, a senior Turkish Defense Ministry official told journalists Wednesday. The official did not elaborate further.

Hifter is the…