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Libya’s Sarraj, Haftar invited to Berlin conference on Libya

The German government has confirmed the Libya conference with Angela Merkel’s participation for January 19

© AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa

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Libya’s Haftar takes two-day time out to hash over agreement reached in Moscow with allies

BERLIN, January 14. /TASS/. The international high-level conference on Libya will take place in Berlin on January 19, the German government’s press service announced.

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel as agreed with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the decision to hold a conference on Libya at the level of heads of state and government on January 19 at the German Chancellery," the cabinet underlined. According to the German government, a number of countries are planning to take part in the conference including Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey as well as envoys from the UN, the EU and the African Union.

It is stressed that "head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar are invited to Berlin."

The German government recalls that Berlin has been holding consultations since September 2019 with a view to provide support to the efforts of UN Secretary-General and his special envoy, Ghassan Salame to achieve inter-Libyan reconciliation. "A few high representative meetings on Libya were held in Berlin in the past few months," it said.

Libya talks

On January 12, a ceasefire in Libya proposed by the Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of a larger initiative to achieve peace in the country entered into force at midnight. The ceasefire’s objective is to stop hostilities between the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) sitting in Tripoli. On Monday, representatives of the parties to the conflict arrived in Moscow for talks after which GNA envoys signed the ceasefire agreement.

Haftar took a pause to study the agreement. However, later he left Moscow without putting his signature under the document. In the early hours of January 14, armed clashes re-erupted in south Tripoli — the target of a decisive offensive declared by Haftar in December. The LNA issued a statement declaring "readiness and determination to win."

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