Morocco is surprised and Tunisia apologizes .. Berlin is looking for a solution to the Libyan crisis and Sarraj is calling for the deployment of an international force

Amid fury in the Maghreb, Berlin will host on Sunday a conference on Libya in which the United States, Russia, France, Britain, China, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, the Emirates, Algeria and the Congo will participate.

Also in attendance at the upcoming conference, President of the Presidential Council of the internationally recognized Libyan Accord Government, Fayez al-Sarraj, and retired Major General Khalifa Hifter. Four international and regional organizations - the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League - also participate, at a time when Greece, Qatar and Morocco were not invited to the conference.

Morocco expressed its surprise at its exclusion from the conference, and the Moroccan Foreign Ministry statement said that Rabat does not understand the criteria or motives that dictated the selection of the countries participating in this conference, stressing that Morocco has always been at the forefront of international efforts aimed at settling the Libyan crisis.

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry stressed that the Kingdom has played a decisive role in concluding the Skhirat Agreement, which remains the only political framework that enjoys the support of the Security Council and the acceptance of all Libyan parties, in order to settle the crisis in the country, in the words of the statement.

In a phone call, King Mohamed VI received from French President Emmanuel Macron after the Foreign Ministry statement, the two parties stressed the "important role that the Kingdom of Morocco is playing to resolve the Libyan crisis," according to a statement of the Royal Court.

The statement pointed out that the Moroccan efforts to solve the Libyan crisis "resulted in the Skhirat Agreement, which was approved by the Security Council and enjoys the support of the international community."

For his part, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita criticized the preparatory measures for the Berlin Conference on Libya, added to the island that Morocco is adopting calm diplomacy, and he wondered why countries such as Morocco and Tunisia were not invited.

He also affirmed Morocco's position rejecting foreign interference in the Libyan issue, whether political or military, adding that the Libyans are able to find a political solution, and that Morocco is against any military action in Libya.

Tunisia apologizes
For its part, Tunisia apologized for participating in the Berlin conference, and the Tunisian Foreign Ministry attributed this in a statement to the late invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and to Tunisia's absence from the preparatory path for the conference.

The Ministry stressed Tunisia's constant attachment to peace and security within the framework of international legitimacy, and the commitment not to interfere in Libyan internal affairs and to stand at the same distance from all Libyan parties.

It also stressed the need to find a political solution away from external interference that has harmed the Libyan people, according to the text of the statement.

The United Nations prepared an internal document outlining Libya's support paths towards a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo to it. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred the paper to members of the UN Security Council last Wednesday.

Ghassan Salama, the UN envoy to Libya, called for stopping all forms of external interference, and said that the Berlin conference will come out with a set of decisions, including support for an internal Libyan conference expected to be held in Geneva at the end of this month.

The UN envoy warned of what he called playing oil in Libya, and stressed that the Libyan livelihood should not be turned into a weapon of war.

International power
Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the United Nations-recognized Libyan government, called for the deployment of an "international protection force" in Libya if Khalifa Haftar resumed the hostilities.

"If Khalifa Haftar does not end his attack, the international community will have to intervene with an international force to protect the Libyan civilian population," al-Sarraj said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt before the Berlin summit.

Al-Sarraj considered that such an armed mission should be "under the auspices of the United Nations", saying that it must be determined whether the European Union, the African Union or the League of Arab States is the party that will participate in it.

In parallel, a State Department official said Saturday that the conflict in Libya has become increasingly similar to the Syrian conflict, explaining in an interview with reporters accompanying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when asked about the chances of success of the Berlin Summit, "I think it is very complicated and everyone is stuck in his position, so my expectations are modest. ".