Bilateral contacts about Libya .. Moscow is preparing for a cease-fire, and Ankara is required

While the battles are still stalled at the borders of Sirte, understandings and contacts are continuing in Ankara and Moscow in order to reach a peaceful solution in Libya away from the military solution, where sources headed by the Turkish Staff said that the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Yasar Guler had contacted his Russian counterpart Valery Grasimov It includes developments in Libya.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had indicated - in an online news conference - that, according to Russian estimates, Haftar’s successor is ready to sign the ceasefire while the Al-Wefaq government, which is still counting on a military solution, rejects it, he said.

It is clear that the Turkish position in support of the reconciliation government is confirmed, which was confirmed by the statements of Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşo أوlu that his country's support for "reconciliation" is support for the international legitimacy that recognized this government, and that Ankara will never give up this support.

Turkey terms

In this context, the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party, Birol Demir, stated that in order to reach a permanent cease-fire, his country requires the withdrawal of Haftar's forces from the strategic city of Sirt and Jafra, and the withdrawal of Russian Wagner's forces from the oil installations.

Demir told Al Jazeera Net that the ceasefire must continue, "which means that Haftar forces must not be in a position to launch a new attack on the legitimate government, in addition to providing guarantees that no militia or international forces, whether Emirati, Egyptian or others, will attack the areas that Are under the control of the Al-Wefaq government. "

He added, "At the current stage, we support the Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli in its demand for all parties to return to their positions in 2015 when the Skhirat political agreement was signed in Morocco, which means that Haftar forces must withdraw from Sirte and Jafra."

Al-Wefaq government forces seized control of the northwest of the country in June, with Turkish support, but is making slow progress towards the strategic city of Hifter, which is still controlled by Haftar.

The hometown of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi, 450 kilometers east of Tripoli, was a stronghold of the Islamic State before it was controlled by the Al-Wefaq government forces in 2016, but it fell early this year in the hands of Haftar.

The Turkish official criticized Russia for supporting Haftar, saying, "In Libya, we support the legitimate government, while the Russian government supports an illegal war leader and thus endangers security in the Mediterranean and stability in Libya."

Demir stressed that his country would continue its military support for the Al-Wefaq government if Haftar and his allies insisted on continuing the war, but he cautioned that Turkey prefers to avoid the Al-Wefaq forces more wars, so he stressed that Ankara will make all efforts to reach an understanding with Moscow and settle the matter and evacuate Sirte, Jafra and oil installations from Haftar forces and militias.

New formula

Turkish observers believe that Lavrov's statements reveal that the influential parties in the Libyan file have reached a formula for resolving the issue of Al-Jafra, and they have gone through means that enable the Al-Wefaq government to receive it without war, and without having military control over it.

Ankara understands - according to these observers - that Hifter and his supporters in Moscow, Cairo and Abu Dhabi do not want new losses after the huge losses suffered by the retired brigade by the Accord Forces and the Turkish forces that possess air defense weapons and advanced offensive march aircraft.

In June 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the capital, Moscow, for the first time, formally and publicly.

On November 27, 2019, both Ankara and the Libyan Al-Wefaq government signed two memoranda of understanding, the first of which includes the demarcation of the maritime border in the Mediterranean, and the second deals with military and security cooperation between the two parties.