Libya .. Haftar requires the withdrawal of Turkish forces for a cease-fire

Retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Haftar expressed his readiness to stop the ceasefire in Libya if certain conditions are met, including the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Libya. On the other hand, the work of the Libyan Military Committee between the Al-Wefaq government and the Haftar forces has resumed, after the Tripoli government had Suspended its participation in the committee after the bombing of the capital's port.

Haftar said in statements to the Russian Information Agency, "Any cease-fire (will be) pending the implementation of several conditions: (the return) of Syrian and Turkish mercenaries, the cessation of Turkish arms supplies to Tripoli, and the liquidation of terrorist groups (in Tripoli)."

Haftar - who is visiting Moscow - added in a statement to the RIA Novosti news agency, "In the event that the Geneva negotiations did not lead to establishing peace and security in the country, and the mercenaries are no longer where they came from then the armed forces (of Haftar) will fulfill their constitutional duty (...) To defend the country from the Turkish-Ottoman invaders. "

Geneva talks
The retired Major General indicated that he is open to political talks in Geneva, and deals positively with all tracks that can achieve peace, security and stability in Libya, as he put it.

On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today in press statements after performing Friday prayers in Istanbul that Haftar "is not a dialogue with us, he is a mercenary and his status is illegal and illegal."

In a related context, a spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Libya said that indirect talks between the military delegations of the reconciliation government and Haftar's forces had resumed in Geneva under the supervision of the United Nations.

The Al-Wefaq government had suspended its participation in the Geneva talks last Monday after Haftar forces bombed the port of Tripoli under the pretext of targeting a weapons depot.

As of now, there is no sign of any progress in the meetings of the Joint Libyan Military Committee, in which five officers from the Al-Wefaq government and the same as Haftar are participating, and the United Nations is seeking from the Geneva military negotiations to transform the fragile truce announced in Libya in mid-January The past, after a Turkish-Russian call, to a permanent cease-fire.

hard mission
Ghassan Salama, the UN special envoy to Libya, said his mission in Libya was "very difficult" but "not impossible". He added in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the negotiations, in which two senior military leaders are participating, "are technical but vital negotiations," stressing the importance of their success.

It is noteworthy that Haftar forces launched an April 4, 2019 attack to control Tripoli, the headquarters of the Al-Wefaq government, and last month the Al-Wefaq government and Haftar agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey, but the agreement was subjected to numerous violations, according to UN reports.

Also, countries - including Russia, Turkey, France and Egypt - agreed during the Berlin conference last month - to end foreign interference in Libya and to respect the UN arms embargo.