Thursday, December 7, 2023
 
 

Russia and Turkey call for ceasefire in Libya

EPA-EFE/ALEXEI DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) attend a joint news conference following their talks in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 22 October 2019. Turkish President is on a working visit to Russia.

- Advertisement -

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire in Libya, following talks in Istanbul on 8 January.
In a joint statement, the presidents reaffirmed their “strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya”.
“We have decided to take the initiative and, as intermediaries, call on all parties in Libya to stop hostilities as of 00.00 hours on 12 January, declare a sustainable ceasefire, supported by the necessary measures to be taken for stabilizing the situation on the ground and normalizing daily life in Tripoli and other cities”, they said.
The two leaders back rival sides in the conflict. Last week, Turkey’s parliament passed a bill allowing the government to send troops to Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which has been in conflict with the warlord Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, whose forces are supported by Russia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Since September, negotiations known as the Berlin peace process were held with the participation of France, Italy, Germany, and the UK, in an effort to put an end to the Libyan conflict.
“We support the ongoing Berlin Process, which aims to create a conducive atmosphere to revitalize the UN-facilitated political process,” said the statement in which the leaders remind that the process can yield tangible results “with the involvement and commitment of Libyans and neighboring countries”.
The GNA said late on 8 January that it welcomed any “serious call” to return to political talks.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Latest

Don't miss

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in post-Maidan and pre-war Ukraine was, and continues to be, the transformation of Ukrainian society along...

Russia’s powerful economic levers over Armenia

Armenia's relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West....

Meeting conditions for Georgia’s EU accession is a tall order for Tbilisi

The European Commission’s provisional endorsement of Georgia’s EU chances contained a not-so-subtle message couched in diplomatic jargon: Tbilisi must forge a stronger national consensus...

New US actions against corruption and Russian malign influence in the Western Balkans

On November 16, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known by its acronym OFAC, designated eight individuals and six...

On confronting evil in the modern world

Now is an appropriate time to morally clarify the underlying narrative of what is happening in Israel and Ukraine. Survivors of the last century’s greatest...

Turkey’s role in the EU’s energy transition

The European Union is facing a unique opportunity in a world increasingly defined by geopolitical tensions, economic turbulences and the urgency of addressing climate...

It takes time to defeat a dictatorship

Whether it is acknowledged or not, Ukraine and the West are in the process of learning a very hard but essential lesson about the...

Breaking Europe’s hold on football

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar brought together nations from around the world, and 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch the final. But...