Today, Sunday, in the Moroccan city of Bouznika, a consultative meeting began between the delegation of the Supreme Council of State in Libya and another delegation representing the House of Representatives meeting in Tobruk.
Concurrently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Istanbul, the head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said, in an opening speech, that the Bouznika meeting may constitute a practical dialogue that prepares for an agreement that would get Libya out of the crisis, but he indicated that Morocco does not present an initiative on the Libyan crisis, nor does it have an agenda with regard to it.
He advised the Libyan parties to "not hesitate and leave the equation of the victor and the defeated," and said that all the initiatives that were previously presented regarding the crisis constitute a basis for progress towards a solution.
In December 2015, the parties to the Libyan conflict signed a political agreement in the Moroccan city of Skhirat, adjacent to Bouznika, which resulted in the formation of a presidential council leading the reconciliation government, in addition to the extension of the parliament, and the establishment of a higher state council.
The head of the Libyan Supreme Council of State, Khaled al-Mishri, and the speaker of the House of Representatives meeting in Tobruk, Agila Saleh, visited the Moroccan capital, Rabat, on the same day at the end of last July, and held separate meetings with Moroccan officials without meeting them.
Erdogan (right) receiving the serraj in the palace of Sultan Vahid al-Din in Istanbul (Anatolia)
Sirte and Jufrah
On August 21, the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord and the House of Representatives meeting in Tobruk (which supports the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar) announced a ceasefire in the country, with two simultaneous statements.
However, the Government of National Accord forces said that Haftar's forces violated the ceasefire in the coastal city of Sirte 3 times, the last of which occurred on Saturday.
The Turkish Anatolia News Agency quoted Brigadier General Abdul Hadi Dara, a spokesman for the "Sirte-Al-Jufra Liberation Operations Room" in the Government of National Accord forces, as saying today that their positions were hit by 10 missiles by Haftar's forces on Saturday, without causing any casualties.
Drah added that during the past two days, they monitored the arrival of several armed vehicles belonging to Haftar's forces.
On Saturday, the Accord Forces announced that they had spotted a military convoy of Haftar's forces, accompanied by a Russian air defense system of the "Pantsir" type, while it was moving from the city of Ajdabiya to Buraiqah in the oil crescent area.
In a related context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met today, head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, and his accompanying delegation in the historic palace of Sultan Vahid al-Din, in the Asian part of Istanbul.
In the meeting, which lasted about two and a half hours, Erdogan and Al-Sarraj discussed Turkish support for the Government of National Accord, especially with regard to developments in the Sirte and Jufrah regions, in addition to developments in the Mediterranean.