World powers push for Libya peace
Gen Haftar, Sarraj avoid direct meet
BERLIN: World leaders committed to ending all foreign meddling in Libya’s civil war at a Berlin summit on Sunday, and to uphold a weapons embargo as part of a broader plan to end the longrunning conflict.
The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs signing up to the agreement to stop interfering in the war — be it through weapons, troops or financing.
But the talks failed to deliver “serious dialogue” between the warring parties — strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli’s UNrecognised government Fayez al-Sarraj — or to get both sides to sign up to a permanent truce.
“Ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee,” said summit host Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“But I hope that through today’s conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that there are “still some questions on how well and effectively” the commitments can be monitored.
But he said he is “optimistic that there will be less violence and... an opportunity to begin the conversation that (UN special envoy) Ghassan Salame has been trying to get going between the Libyan parties”.
Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 Nato-backed uprising killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Most recently, Mr Sarraj’s troops in Tripoli have been under attack since April from Gen Haftar’s forces.
Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands, until a fragile ceasefire backed by both Ankara and
Moscow was put in place on Jan 12.
Although Mr Sarraj’s government is recognised by the UN, powerful players are standing behind Gen Haftar — turning a domestic conflict into a proxy war in which international powers jostle to secure their own interests.
Alarm grew in recent weeks after Turkey ordered in troops to shore up Mr Sarraj’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the world powers had made “a strong commitment to stop” the conflict escalating into a regional confrontation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed to some positive takeaways from the talks, but said the summit failed to launch necessary talks between Mr Sarraj and Gen Haftar.
“It is clear that we have not yet succeeded in launching a stable dialogue between them,” Mr Lavrov said after the conference, where Gen Haftar and Mr Sarraj did not meet.
Nevertheless, the Libyan parties had taken “a step” forward, Mr Lavrov added.
Pro-Haftar forces upped the ante on the eve of the talks by blocking oil exports at Libya’s key ports, crippling the country’s main income source in protest at Turkey’s decision to send troops to shore up Mr Sarraj.
The flaring oil crisis underlined the devastating impact of foreign influence in the conflict, in which Mr Sarraj’s GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar while Gen Haftar has the support of Russia, Egypt and the UAE.