Italian newspaper: Haftar escapes again in front of Merkel's latest warning

A report published by the Italian newspaper Al-Corriere della Sera revealed the retired Libyan general's behavior of not answering a phone call from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which caused her anger, while trying to obtain his position on the final statement of the Berlin conference on Sunday.

The newspaper says that at five o'clock on Sunday evening the phone of the room in which Haftar was present in the German Chancellery’s palace rang long, to no avail, given Haftar’s refusal to answer a new call by Merkel who was trying to get a final answer from the text of the final statement To the Berlin conference.

The report adds that Merkel had spent the entire afternoon of Sunday moving between the conference hall and the two rooms in which the head of the National Accord Government, Fayez al-Sarraj and Haftar, were located just a few meters from her office.

The newspaper adds that, according to a source who was close to Merkel at those moments, that was the only moment that the German chancellor's anger exploded by saying: "We will only wait ten more minutes and if Hifter continues not to fulfill his responsibilities, we will conclude the conference and acknowledge what the conferees agreed upon." And that is what actually happened.

Armistice and steps
The newspaper pointed out that the international conference on Libya that concluded with the adoption of an international mechanism aimed at consolidating the armistice through a series of successive steps, which should start from an actual ban on the supply of arms to Libya and the cessation of military support to the parties to the conflict by regional and international actors in the Libyan scene, His closing statement, Al-Sarraj and Haftar, were not signed, leaving the general's vague silence regarding its enforceability.

And the newspaper believes that the worst thing is that Hifter, as usual in the past months, changed his position at the last minute, proposing the text of the agreement signed by his rival Al-Sarraj in Moscow when he fled in the cover of darkness directed at the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is considered his most prominent supporter, a slap on His nose.

The newspaper says that the same thing happened completely with Merkel, who was intent on inserting Al-Sarraj and Haftar at the last moments into the conference hall to put their signature on the closing statement before world leaders, but that Haftar's escape at the last crucial moments forced her to reluctantly confess before the journalists, that he did not All problems could not be solved.

The newspaper, however, reports that there has been some progress in the talks, starting with the green light that arrived from Al-Sarraj and Haftar regarding the appointment of their representatives in the joint military committee that will assume the task of monitoring the ceasefire, which must meet under the auspices of the United Nations during the next few days in Geneva.

A major goal
In a related context, the German Chancellor said: "The main objective of the Berlin conference was to succeed in bringing together the actors in Libya and to ensure that the consolidation of the ceasefire is the fruit of the work and efforts of the joint military committees that were appointed for this purpose."

The newspaper quotes the President of the European Parliament, David Sassouli, as saying: "The detailed decision will now be taken by the Libyans from both sides."

Returning to Haftar, the newspaper adds that he has set conditions that cannot be accepted to the point that the Russians themselves were close to impatience with the warlord who supported him, noting his decision to stop exporting oil.

As for what disturbed the Russians in particular, it is the role that the Emiratis played behind the scenes, especially since the retired Libyan general considered them the actual protectors for him both on the military and financial levels, and that is why he used them every time to make his final decision.

The newspaper concluded that: The outputs of the Berlin conference do not satisfy at the minimum the aspirations of those who were eagerly awaiting the end of his turmoil and his ordeal, and now it is up to the entire international community to avoid failure, especially since what is behind this is nothing but chaos.