“Active clashes are not fixed”: reports on ceasing ceasefire in Libya called premature

The Turkish Ministry of Defense called premature reports of the resumption of hostilities in the Libyan capital - Tripoli. The night before, the Speaker of the Libyan House, Akila Saleh Isa, announced the “collapse of the truce”.

“To declare a ceasefire violation in Libya is premature, active clashes have not been recorded,” Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar emphasized.

Recall, on January 8, the talks between the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took place in Istanbul. The heads of state called on all parties to the Libyan conflict to sit at the negotiating table, as well as to cease hostilities from 00:00 on January 12. The Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of National Accord (PNS) announced a ceasefire, but warned that they would respond to any violation.

On January 13, the negotiation process on the situation in Libya continued in Moscow with the participation of Russian and Turkish foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, defense ministers Sergei Shoigu and Hulusi Akar, as well as the leaders of the Libyan warring parties - the head of the PNS Faiz Sarraj and the LNA commander Khalifa Haftar . According to Lavrov, following the meeting, the agreement was signed by the chairman of the Libyan state council Khaled Mishri and Sarraj. At the same time, Haftar did not put his signature on the document, leaving Russia. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the general took two days to discuss the document with leaders supporting the Libyan national army of the tribes.

“We never considered the meeting in Moscow as final, but this is a meeting to promote peace and a contribution to the Berlin conference. We recommended that Germany invite Libyans to it, and we hope they will respond positively to this proposal. The process is ongoing, it continues, ”Lavrov said on January 15 at the international political science conference“ Raisin Dialogue ”.

In turn, Hulusi Akar believes that the conference scheduled for January 19 in Berlin could positively affect the settlement of the situation.

“Leaders, with the exception of Trump, will gather on January 19 in Berlin. Sarraj and Haftar will also be present there. We think that the summit can be effective, ”he stressed.

It is worth noting that the adviser to the head of the PNS has already confirmed the participation of Faiz Sarraj in negotiations in the German capital.

“Better is a bad world than endless war”

As military expert Boris Yulin noted, there is a growing strengthening of the position of those who are dissatisfied with the military clashes in Libya.

“The only thing that can provide any sustainable peace is the elimination or weakening of the main causes that cause hostilities,” the source said.

According to him, at present Libya is a country with limited sovereignty, the oil wealth of which is controlled by foreign companies.

“Libya was not a single country from the beginning, it was defined along the borders as a former Italian colony. There was no special unity in it yet. Until the causes of war are eliminated, and this is control over national wealth by other countries and the struggle of various ethnic groups for power, there cannot be a sustainable peace there, there can only be short-term cease-fires, which may be useful in some way , in some ways they can lead to even greater victims, prolonging the conflict, ”Yulin explained.

Recall that the crisis in Libya began in 2011 after the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. After that, two opposing centers of power were formed - the interim government led by Abdullah at-Thani, appointed by the parliament in Tobruk and supported by the LNA, and the Government of National Accord led by Sarraj.

According to Alexei Leonkov, Commercial Director of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, issues related to the armistice of the parties were never simple and were not resolved during one meeting of the warring parties. He emphasized that this process is always complex and multivariate, especially in Libya, a country uniting various nationalities.

“Therefore, the reconciliation of the parties, the issue of a ceasefire and compliance with this ceasefire are likely to go through a multi-stage process. I think everything will go by analogy with the Astana and Sochi formats. In the meantime, a bad world is better than an endless war. You need to understand that in Syria, too, not everything went smoothly, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.