Russia, Turkey work on immediate ceasefire in Libya
Moscow and Ankara are currently working on an immediate ceasefire agreement for the conflict in Libya, Russian Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Wednesday.
The Russian-backed Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar is ready to sign a ceasefire document and hopes that Turkey will manage to convince the country’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj to do the same, according to Lavrov.
Libya has been torn by conflict since 2011, when the NATO-backed uprising overthrown the longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The European Union has been long calling for an immediate ceasefire in the country. In June, EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, along with the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Italy urged all Libyan and international parties to effectively and immediately stop all military operations and engage constructively in the 5+5 negotiations, based upon the draft agreement of 23 February.
Yet, France has accused Turkey of endangering European security by sending Syrian fighters to Libya, calling for talks among NATO allies on what it described as Turkey’s increasingly “aggressive” role in Libya, which was thwarting efforts to secure a cease-fire.