On Thursday, Khaled al-Mashri, head of the Libyan Supreme Council of State, stressed that there was no dialogue with retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, describing him as a "war criminal", expressing readiness to resume the political process according to the agreed parameters. For its part, Turkey stressed that the Egyptian initiative on Libya was born dead, calling on the United States to play an active role.
Al-Mashri’s statements came during his meeting with the German ambassador to Libya, Oliver Ovcha, where they discussed the latest political and military developments in the country, and the possibility of resuming the political dialogue again, according to a statement of the media office of the Council.
According to the statement, Al-Mashri affirmed during the meeting the position of the Supreme Council of State that there is no dialogue with Haftar, and stressed the readiness to resume the political process "in accordance with the established principles and agreed upon visions, which are the convening of the parliament, calling for a referendum on the constitution, and going to general elections in the country."
And recently, Al-Wefaq government forces achieved victories over the retired brigade forces, most notably the control of the entire administrative borders of Tripoli, the cities of Tarhuna and Bani Walid, and the entire cities of the West Coast, Al-Wattia air base, and towns in the western mountain.
Dead initiative
In the wake of these remarkable military developments, Cairo put forward what it called a "political initiative" to cease fire and resume political dialogue, but Haftar set in this initiative the terms of the victor from the defeated position, which lost her any logic or seriousness, according to observers.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşo أوlu considered that the call for a ceasefire or a joint statement on Libya was "born dead".
"The call for a ceasefire or the joint statement on Libya was born dead for us, it is an unrealistic and untrue call," he said in an interview on the Turkish NTV channel Thursday, in response to a question about the ceasefire call that took place in Egypt in the presence of Haftar.
He also stressed that "the legitimate side in Libya is the side of the Saraj government, which is recognized by the United Nations and the world," and that Haftar "lost on the ground after the attempted coup." He pointed out that the retired Major General was not sincere and demonstrated by his actions that he has no place in the future of Libya.
American role
The Turkish minister said Thursday that the United States should play a more active role in Libya, whether in reaching a ceasefire or political talks.
He added that US participation is important to protect the interests of the alliance, adding that Turkish and American officials will discuss possible steps as agreed by Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump during a phone call on Monday.
"For some reason, the United States is not playing an active role in Libya, perhaps because of previous shocks," Turkey's foreign minister said.
"The United States should play a more active role in reaching a ceasefire and in the political process," he added.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the resumption of UN-led talks between the warring parties in Libya, and called for accelerated negotiations to reach a ceasefire with the start of a new round of talks after the quick victories of the Accord government.