Libya .. Turkish Minister opens the door to install the armistice and Al-Mashri criticizes an Emirati diplomat

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that it was too early to say that the ceasefire in Libya had collapsed, while the head of the Supreme Council of State in Libya, Khaled al-Mashri, accused the Emirati diplomat over his role in the negotiations in Moscow.

The Turkish Minister of Defense said in a press statement in Ankara today, Wednesday, that the Turkish government - which supports the internationally recognized reconciliation government in Tripoli - has sent a team for training and cooperation that is now working in Libya.

"Our endeavors are continuing to cease-fire in Libya, and we cannot say that hope is completely lost," Akar said, and he considered that the allegations of the ceasefire's collapse did not reflect field realities.

The talk about the collapse of the ceasefire came after retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces launched an attack to storm the capital, Tripoli, had not signed a binding armistice agreement during talks in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The Turkish Minister of Defense indicated that the Berlin conference on the Libyan crisis could produce tangible results. The German government will host the Berlin conference next Sunday to try to reach compromises between the conflicting Libyan parties.

The situation in the field
A ceasefire was announced last Sunday between the forces of the reconciliation government and the forces of Khalifa Haftar on the basis of a Turkish-Russian initiative.

But clashes erupted yesterday, Tuesday, with various types of medium and heavy weapons. Al-Wefaq government forces announced that they had used heavy artillery to respond to artillery shelling from Haftar's forces, which retreated after trying to advance in the axes of Salahuddin, Sidra and Ramla, south of the capital, Tripoli.

Cautious calm has returned to the focus of fighting today, Al Jazeera correspondent reported.

Emirati role
On the other hand, Khaled Al-Mashri, head of the Supreme Council of State in Libya, said that the UAE embassy in Moscow has contributed strongly to obstructing the ceasefire.

Al-Mashri said in a televised speech today, Wednesday, that "Gulf parties were present in the cease-fire negotiations in the capital, Moscow, among Haftar's delegation, among them the charge d'affaires of the UAE embassy to Russia, which was one of the reasons for obstructing the signing of the ceasefire agreement."

On Monday, Moscow hosted indirect quad talks on the situation in Libya between representatives of the Russian and Turkish sides, a delegation of the Libyan Accord government, and another of the government supported by Haftar.

Moscow announced that both Prime Minister al-Wefaq Fayez al-Sarraj and head of the Supreme Council of State Khalid al-Mashri signed a text of a draft ceasefire, while Haftar's delegation asked for two days before signing.