By RFIPosted on 08-01-2020Modified on 08-01-2020 at 18:14
Their meeting in Istanbul will have borne fruit: the Turkish presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin call this Wednesday for a cease-fire in Libya from this Sunday, January 12 at midnight. In a joint statement, the two leaders - who support opposing camps in Libya - urge all belligerents to sit at a negotiating table.
With our correspondent in Istanbul , Anne Andlauer
Recep Tayyip Erdogan got what he expected from his meeting with Vladimir Putin: a joint statement by Turkey and Russia on Libya. In this case, a call for a cease-fire between the Government of national unity of Fayez al-Sarraj - supported by Ankara - and the troops of Khalifa Haftar - supported, among others, by Moscow.
The two countries, which have engaged forces on the ground - soldiers on the Turkish side and paramilitaries on the Russian side - nevertheless present themselves in this declaration as " intermediaries ". They announced that they had " decided to take the initiative " to put an end to hostilities. They affirm their support for the " Berlin process ", in reference to the organization of an upcoming international conference on Libya under the aegis of the UN. In reality, it seems that Ankara and Moscow are hoping to negotiate the terms of a settlement of the conflict and establish themselves as " peacemakers " in Libya.
This could go through the creation of a mechanism similar to the Astana process, which had been created by Turkey, Russia and Iran to try to find a political solution to the war in Syria. Ankara and Moscow insist in any case on the absence of a " military solution " in Libya.
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