Preparatory meetings for the Berlin and Erdogan conference warn against the overthrow of the legitimate government of Libya

The final preparations for the Berlin conference on Libya began today, Saturday, in the German capital Berlin, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against toppling the legitimate government in Libya, and mortgaged it to General Khalifa Hifter.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that preparatory meetings are taking place in the German Chancellery, with the participation of representatives of the participating countries.

German news agency DPA reported that it had seen the draft final statement of the Berlin conference, and said it contained six items, including economic and security reforms, along with a ceasefire and the implementation of the arms embargo.

The agency noted that the United Nations has prepared an internal document defining the paths of Libya's support towards a permanent ceasefire and the implementation of the arms embargo.

The agency confirmed that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres transmitted the paper to members of the UN Security Council last Wednesday.

The United States, Russia, France, Britain, China, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, the Emirates, Algeria and the Congo will also participate in the conference. The upcoming conference will be attended by Fayez Al-Sarraj, President of the Presidential Council of the Libyan Government of International Accord, and retired Major General Khalifa Hifter.

Peace of Libya through Turkey
On the Libyan issue, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the path of peace in Libya passes through Turkey, as he put it.

He added - in an article for his journal Politico - that the legitimate government is under attack from what he described as "the Prince of War", Khalifa Haftar, who enjoys the support of anti-democratic governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as he put it.

He made clear that the international community had failed to shoulder its responsibilities to stop the violence, and that leaving Libya at the mercy of Haftar would be a historic mistake.

Erdogan has warned Europe that it will face a new set of problems if Libya's legitimate government falls.

He pointed out that the European Union should show the world that it is an important player in the international arena.

Given that Europe is less interested in providing military support to Libya, he said, the obvious choice is to work with Turkey, noting that Ankara will train Libyan security forces to fight terrorism, human trafficking and other threats to world peace.

For its part, the Turkish Presidency contact service said - in a statement on Saturday - that Ankara supports from the start efforts to stop the attacks on the Libyan government, to stop the fire permanently, and to reach a permanent political solution for the Libyans under the auspices of the United Nations.

The statement said that Turkey has made intense diplomatic efforts at all levels, and has contributed constructively to the issue of holding the Berlin Conference, expecting the parties to exchange views on the steps to be taken in Libya in order to establish peace and stability in the coming period and take concrete decisions in this direction.