“We agreed on a political decision ... We agreed to launch a new operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Sofia will end on March 31,” RIA Novosti quoted Borrel as saying.
He noted that the mission’s goal is “to comply with the UN arms embargo,” which, he said, “includes the use of the Air Force and naval forces.”
The Sofia mission was established in 2015 to combat the smuggling of people and weapons in international waters off the coast of Libya, as well as to prevent the death of illegal migrants at sea and to train the coastal guard of Libya.
The decision to terminate it was made in 2019, although the mandate of the mission will end only on March 31, 2020.