• Moscow, Putin receives German Chancellor Merkel: "The fighting ends in Libya"
  • Di Maio: terrorist risk in Libya, we must all put around a table
  • Conte: "We work for a political solution in Libya. Italy always coherent"
  • Libya, Haftar bombards Mitiga airport. Tripoli awaits the truce negotiated by Russia and Turkey
  • Dossier Libya, Conte meets Di Maio. Renzi: "Italy as a spectator, a photo opportunity is not enough"
  • Libya, Haftar rejects ceasefire request. Spokesman: "Tripoli militias must be wiped out"

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January 11, 2020 Forces loyal to General Haftar have announced a truce, starting one minute after midnight. However, the truce is conditioned by the other actors in the Libyan crisis respecting it.

Meanwhile, Italian mediation continues in search of a diplomatic solution. Previously, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte met at Palazzo Chigi. A meeting scheduled three days ago which was later canceled by the Libyan premier, annoyed at the welcome given by Italy to General Haftar.

"On behalf of Italy, we are extremely worried about the escalation on Libyan territory. The latest developments make the country a powder keg with repercussions on the whole region," said the Prime Minister during the joint press conference with the President of the Government of Libyan national agreement, Fayez al Sarraj, at the end of the bilateral agreement at Palazzo Chigi. We must stop internal conflict and external interference in Libya, "said Conte and" absolutely stop internal conflict and external interference ".

"We have no other goals" than the cease and fire to ensure well-being and prosperity for the Libyan people, "we have no hidden agendas," added Conte. According to the Italian premier "the intervention of the European Union is the maximum guarantee that can be offered today to the autonomy of the Libyan people".

"It was an important and sincere conversation with President Conte, we appreciate Italy's role in Libya's stability". This was stated by Fayez al Sarraj, in the joint press conference.

"The attack that has taken place pushes us to take part in these war activities that we consider as a right to defense". The Libyan premier explains that the Libyan government recognized by the international community will continue to defend Tripoli from the attack of Haftar's troops. "We welcome the initiatives of Russia and Turkey, such as ceasefire initiatives with the condition that there is a withdrawal of the opposing faction that attacks. But that faction does not seem available to this, because it has another modus operandi", said the President of the Government of national agreement. The ceasefire, said Fayez al Sarraj, "cannot happen without the withdrawal of the attacker Haftar whom we don't trust".

Conte and Sarraj have decided to restart a joint commission to establish the compensation due to Libya: "In the next few days a joint commission will be set up between Italy and Libya to resume the compensation process which was interrupted in 2014," said the Italian premier . Serraj added: "As President Conte said, we discussed the formation of a mixed commission, which could resume work, which stopped in 2014, in relation to the point of the accumulated debts and payments of companies operating in Libya, so that these projects can be resumed. This is a topic that will certainly benefit the Libyan people: the completion of these suspended projects ".

Sarraj was received this morning in the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi with the picket and military honors. At Palazzo Chigi there is also the director of the Aise, Luciano Carta. Carta was also present at Palazzo Chigi during the meeting between Conte and Haftar.

Italian Embassy suspends Twitter account, "security"
The Italian embassy in Libya has suspended the Twitter account in the crosshairs of a hacker attack. "The diplomatic seat - explains the same on social media probably referring to recent positions expressed by the account - denies any form of approval to third party communications attributed in the past few hours. For the restoration of account security, the same will remain closed in next days".

Conte hears Macron, EU coordination for the peace process
"This afternoon the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, had a telephone conversation with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, during which the Italian President illustrated the contents of his today's talks with the President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Fayez al Serraj,
and those that had Wednesday with General Khalifa Haftar. Presidents Conte and Macron reiterated the importance of coordination at European level in favor of the peace and stabilization process in Libya ". This is what is said in a note from the Council Presidency.

Di Maio: work on the Russia-Italy-Turkey table
"Yesterday at the EWC (EU Foreign Affairs Council) Germany thanked us because thanks to the work done by Italy in recent days, the Berlin conference on Libya, the one that puts the actors of this damned proxy war. " So Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio in a Facebook post.

"A few days ago, in my meeting in Istanbul with the Turkish Minister Cavusoglu, we agreed on the fact that we work at a table Russia, Turkey and Italy for Libya. We also asked to involve neighboring countries in Libya in the Berlin conference. And we are happy that Algeria has been involved. Now we also hope in the others, "added the minister.

"In these days I have read about many free invectives against the Government for Italy's poor international role, but on Libya we have already received all the main actors in Rome. And we sit at the important tables that allow us to ask the parties for a cease immediate fire ", remarked Di Maio before adding:" we are working and we continue to do it ".

First Turkish soldiers died
On the ground, the ceasefire in Libya proposed Wednesday by Russia and Turkey has failed at least for now and while international calls to silence weapons are multiplying, Khalifa Haftar's forces are attempting to break through to the west. After Sirte, we fight to take the city of Misurata, a stronghold loyal to the Prime Minister of Tripoli Fayez al-Sarraj. Here and in nearby Khoms the general also imposed a sailing ban on arriving ships, threatening to sink them. And there would be the first deaths among Turkish soldiers deployed in the country by the President of Ankara Recep Tayyip Erdogan in support of the Sarraj government.

For the time being, this latest news lacks official confirmation and remains rather hidden in Turkey, where only the newspaper Ahval speaks of three soldiers killed and six injured: a reconstruction also credited by other sources close to the Benghazi general and relaunched by Arab media such as Al Arabiyae Al Arab. If confirmed, the fact would deny the statements made in recent days by Erdogan that Turkish soldiers - 35 those sent to Libya with the first contingent - did not participate directly in military operations.

The negotiations
On the diplomatic front, from the summit of European Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels to take stock of the Middle Eastern crises, a call rang out to apply an effective arms embargo on Libya. Just as the need to speed up the Berlin conference was stressed in order to make the players at play on the North African scene sit at the table. An explicit request for this has also come from Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will fly to Ankara on January 24 to try to convince Erdogan not to desert the summit.

In this phase, the lines of the half-world chancelleries remain hot, with continuous phone calls crossed between the leaders. All eyes are on the moves of General Haftar who surprisingly decided to snub Putin's invitation to ceasefire, despite Russia being one of its main sponsors. It remains to be seen whether his is a tactical move aimed at gaining ground as much as possible in view of Sunday, the date on which the truce should have been triggered, or if the strong man of Benghazi decided to go all the way with his offensive .

"I hope that Russia and Turkey's call for a truce in Libya will be heard," said Vladimir Putin after his meeting with Angela Merkel in Moscow.

Turkish Minister Cavusoglu: Russia persuades Haftar to respect the ceasefire
Russia must convince General Khalifa Haftar, head of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, to comply with the ceasefire agreement that will take effect at midnight tomorrow. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu asked about the agreement reached on Wednesday in Istanbul between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Turkey expects its friend Russia to convince General Khalifa Haftar to respect the ceasefire in Libya according to what was agreed between the Turkish and Russian presidents," Cavusoglu said in a joint press conference with his counterpart from the Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in Istanbul.