The two parties to the conflict in Libya, Fayez al-Sarraj, the retired Libyan Prime Minister, and retired Major General Khalifa Hifter announced that they would participate in the Berlin conference to be held next Sunday to discuss the Libyan crisis, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the conference is not an end to the Libyan crisis, but only the beginning of a United Nations-led political process.

Al-Sarraj confirmed that he would participate in the conference, and said in his meeting with political and military leaders in his government that he was keen to invite countries that have a relationship with Libyan affairs.

He added that Haftar's failure to sign the ceasefire agreement - which the parties reached in negotiations in Moscow - was aimed at trying to torpedo the Berlin conference before it was held, and he described the role of Turkey and Russia as positive in exchange for what he described as the European impotence towards what is happening in Libya.

For his part, retired Major-General Khalifa Hifter announced that he would participate in the conference, and a close source said that Hifter received an official invitation from Germany to attend the Berlin conference, and that he would travel with the Speaker of the Parliament in Tobruk Aqila Saleh.

Germany's position
Meanwhile, the German chancellor said that the aim of the Berlin conference is the commitment of all parties involved in the current arms embargo, which is always flagrantly violating, in order to open the way for a political solution.

She added that the participation of the Turkish and Russian presidents in the Berlin conference is a good sign, adding that it is not permissible for anyone who sees the displacement of millions of people as happened in Syria to wait for the same thing to happen in Libya.

Merkel considered that the continued entry of weapons and the interference of external actors would exacerbate the crisis in Libya, considering that the conference is not the end but rather just the beginning of a political process led by the United Nations.

On the other hand, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said before heading to Benghazi, in eastern Libya, "Through the Berlin meeting, we have the best opportunity for a long time to start peace talks for Libya."

"For months we have been negotiating how we can stop the deadly flow of arms and fighters from abroad. In order to reach an agreement in this regard, we invited all relevant actors to the table on Sunday," he added.

He announced a ceasefire last Sunday between the forces of the internationally recognized Libyan Accord government and the forces of Major General Khalifa Haftar on the basis of a Turkish-Russian initiative, but intermittent clashes took place later on.