By RFIPosted on 13-01-2020Modified on 13-01-2020 at 19:41

The indirect talks held on Monday in Moscow between the two main protagonists of the Libyan conflict, the head of government recognized by the UN, Fayez el-Sarraj, and the strong man of the East, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have allowed "progress" without however leading to an unconditional and unlimited ceasefire agreement.

With our correspondent in Moscow, Daniel Vallot

After this day of talks, " progress " was recorded, said Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy, at the end of the day.

The ceasefire agreement was signed by one of the two belligerents, namely Fayez el-Sarraj, the head of the government of Tripoli but Marshal Haftar for his part asked for a period of reflection. The strong man of eastern Libya gives himself until Tuesday morning to affix his signature at the bottom of the text.

The document specifies the terms of the cease-fire that came into effect on Sunday, January 12.

Despite the reluctance displayed by Marshal Haftar, Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, were rather optimistic during the very brief statement made to journalists after the meeting.

“ Intense consultations have taken place with the support of Turkey and Russia. The document studied concerned the modalities of the cease-fire proclaimed Sunday January 12 at midnight, following the joint appeal of Presidents Putin and Erdogan. Today, after these very serious talks, we can say that some progress has been made. The head of the Libyan government of national unity Fayez el-Sarraj has just signed the text. For his part, Marshal Khalifa Haftar welcomed the document, but asked for additional time, until tomorrow morning, to decide on its signature. I hope this decision will be positive, "said Sergei Lavrov.

The head of Turkish diplomacy is even planning for the next stage, namely a " political process " to find a solution to the Libyan crisis. This process would take place " under the patronage of Russia and Turkey, " he said.

The test is therefore only half transformed. We will have to wait Tuesday morning to talk about a real success. The day of Monday has, in any case, shown that Moscow and Ankara, very present in the Libyan file, are on the way to become essential for a political settlement and this, with a step ahead of the European countries as well as the United States.

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