• The Conference on Libya begins in Berlin. Al Sarraj and Haftar divided over everything
  • Libya, distant peace
  • Libya. Haftar stops oil exports. UN plan: truce and new government

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January 19, 2020

The participants in the Berlin Conference approved the final declaration on Libya. Diplomatic sources said, according to which there would be no substantial changes to the draft circulated in the last hours. The 55-point document includes - among other things - a permanent ceasefire, an arms embargo and a political process to arrive at a single government.

Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas are meeting at Sarraj and Haftar, to whom they report the conclusions of the Berlin conference adopted a little while ago. It is not clear the format, the meetings should take place separately, as expected on the eve. The final outcome of the summit remains thus still open. The two Libyan leaders have not had any contact at the moment, have not sat at the round table and remained in two separate rooms of the German Chancellery, home of the summit.

Sarraj, Prime Minister of the Tripoli government, the one recognized by the international community, has already clarified that the success of the Conference will depend exclusively on the withdrawal of Haftar; that never, in the event of a possible single national government (main objective of the Conference), will it be "subject to approval by the Parliament of Tobruk" (ally of Haftar, ed); and that the release of oil is essential, the last act of the strong man of Cyrenaica. Oil production was stopped at the El Sharara field in eastern Libya this morning. An armed group close to the general has blocked an oil pipeline that transports crude oil from the field to the Zawiya refinery. Yesterday, the NOC, the Libyan oil company, was forced to block oil production in five oil terminals, declaring causes of force majeure, after militias close to Haftar had announced the blockade of exports.

Haftar changes the "hostile attitude" so that a solution can be found to the crisis in Libya, Turkish President Erdogan, who supports al Sarraj, said today. "For a political solution and the implementation of the other phases of a solution, Haftar's hostile attitude must end," he said, during the meeting in Berlin with Putin. "We do not lose hope that the dialogue will continue and the conflict will be resolved" was the conclusion of the Russian president.

In these same hours, meanwhile, the Libyan army has announced that the general's militias have opened fire on government forces on the front of Kallatat, south of Tripoli, in a new violation of the ceasefire. And Khalifa Haftar appears to be under pressure from Gaddafians to bring down the Berlin conference. As a tweet from the Libya Observer site out of quotation marks, Moussa Ibrahim - former Minister of Information and spokesman for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - said that if the general "accepts the results of the conference" the supporters and fighters of the late Libyan leader "will dissolve the alliance "they made with him in 2014.

The idea of ​​an international force advances
The hypothesis of an international presence in Libya to guarantee the application of the ceasefire seems to have made its way among the leaders. The idea, partly revived on the eve of al Sarraj, has rebounded in many statements by the leaders. In particular, the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (in favor of a ceasefire, we could send people, experts to monitor this ceasefire), in favor of the Italian Prime Minister. Giuseppe Conte has repeatedly expressed availability.

Russia too seems now open to possibility, according to Mikhail Bogdanov, Vladimir Putin's special representative for the Middle East and Africa, quoted by the RIA Novosti agency. The Russian representative, however, stressed that any decision will require discussion at the UN Security Council, "the only one capable of making binding decisions".

In Berlin 18 delegations
Eighteen delegations are participating in the Berlin Conference on Libya which began a short time ago at the headquarters of the German Federal Chancellery. At the head, the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and his special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamè. Here is the list of participants:
- UN: the secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and the special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame '.
- EU: the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, and the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell.
- African Union: the president of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
- Arab League: the Secretary General, Ahmed Aboulgheit.
- Libya: the president of the Government of national agreement, Fayez al Serraj, and his opponent, the general of Cyrenaica, Khalifa Haftar.
- Italy: the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio.
- Use: the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.
- Russia: President Vladimir Putin.
- Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- France: President Emmanuel Macron.
- GB: Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
- Egypt: President Abdel Fattah al Sisi.
- Algeria: President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
- China: Yang Jiechi, director of the office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Politburo.
- Emirates: Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayd al Nahyan.

Guterres: silence the weapons
In Libya "we face a clear risk of regional escalation" and therefore "we reiterate our appeal to all those directly or indirectly involved to do everything to support an effective cessation of hostilities and silence the weapons". It is a passage from the speech addressed by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the participants. "The incessant and blatant violations of the arms embargo - he says - must stop".

"We urge the Libyan parties to engage in good faith dialogue on political, economic and military issues in an inclusive process led by Libya," added Guterres. "The United Nations - he says - are fully committed to continuing our support for this process. Now is the time for immediate and decisive action to prevent a full-fledged civil war. Such a conflict could lead to a humanitarian nightmare. and leave the country vulnerable to permanent division. For the neighboring countries of Libya, in particular the southern Mediterranean and the Sahel region, the consequences are harsh and palpable: more terrorism, more human trafficking, more drug trafficking, arms and people".

Macron: "Stop sending pro-Turkish Syrians, UN stores truce without pre-conditions"
Essentially a warning and a wish the synthesis of the French President's speech. The sending of Syrian pro-Turkish fighters to Libya must "cease", the UN should negotiate a truce "without pre-conditions by either party".

Pompeo: it's time for Libyans to decide their future
"The time has come for Libyans to decide their future for themselves," said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Washington's head of diplomacy urged "all sides to take this opportunity to address the political, economic and security issues that divide them."

Conte: "Italy determined by political solution"
"In Berlin for the conference on Libya with Foreign Minister Di Maio. We are confident that this summit will represent an important step in reaching a political solution to the Libyan crisis. A path on which Italy has always worked with determination". So Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Twitter.

In Berlin for the conference on Libya with the Foreign Minister @luigidimaio. We trust that this summit will represent an important step in reaching a political solution to the Libyan crisis. A path to which Italy has always worked with determination. pic.twitter.com/8FSbGnF80j

- Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) January 19, 2020

Conte ad al Sarraj: "Europe did not arrive late, Italy has always been there"
We are a country of Europe, we are a country more directly concerned. In the last stages, Europe is developing the great conviction that these dossiers must move with the utmost determination and with one voice ". Premier Giuseppe Conte said in Berlin, commenting on al-Sarraj's words that Europe arrived "late and divided" on Libya.



Sarraj: Europeans late
"Europe must make self-criticism. Europeans have come too late." Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj said it at Welt am Sonntag. Prime Minister Sarraj is also disappointed by the differences of position in Europe on the Libyan question, with France more favorable to rival Haftar. "We would have expected the EU to take a clear stand against Khalifa Haftar's offensive, and to help resolve the current crisis." "Unfortunately, Europe has so far played a very modest role. Although some countries have a special relationship with Libya and they are our neighbors with many common interests," added Sarraj.

"If the aggression resumes, we will continue to defend ourselves vigorously until it is defeated. We have not attacked anyone" he then told the DPA, speaking of the offensive of General Khalifa Haftar and a possible resumption of the clashes in case of failure of the Berlin conference.

"A long experience makes us believe that there is doubt about the seriousness of the other party". So Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj in an interview with the Dpa, before the start of the Berlin summit on Libya. Without explicitly mentioning Haftar, Sarraj added: "everyone knows he aspires to power at all costs".

Sarraj and Haftar from Merkel, separate talks
Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar had talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel before the start of the Berlin summit. The German news agency Dpa writes that the two talks with the chancellor, accompanied by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, took place separately. Al Serraj expressed to Merkel the hope "that there will be a firm and effective attitude towards the violations of international law and the sovereignty committed by the countries that support the aggression".