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Putin, Merkel stress that Libyan sides must adhere to ceasefire regime

Currently, Libya has two parallel bodies of executive power: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and the interim government, operating in the country’s east together with parliament

© EPA-EFE/STRINGER

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed during a phone call on Tuesday that the Libyan conflict sides must adhere to the ceasefire regime, the Kremlin press service informed.

"During an exchange of opinions on the situation in Libya, they stressed that the conflict sides must adhere to the ceasefire regime and implement the decisions of the Berlin conference that took place in January of this year," the press service informs.

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On January 19, an international high-level conference on Libya took place in Berlin, with at least ten heads of state and government attending the event including Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks were also attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as representatives of Algeria, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and China.

Moreover, Berlin also welcomed Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, and Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar.

The conference’s final communique includes a call to ceasefire, as well as the call for foreign countries to refrain from intervening in Libya’s affairs, while it also proposes creation of a single government and launch of reforms to restore statehood that was demolished by NATO almost ten years ago. The conflict sides also agreed to establish a special ceasefire monitoring commission.

Currently, Libya has two parallel bodies of executive power: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by al-Sarraj, and Abdullah Abdurrahman al-Thani’s interim government, operating in the country’s east together with parliament and supported by Haftar’s LNA.

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During the phone call, Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel also hashed over the developments in Syria's Idlib as well as the upcoming Russian-Turkish summit.

"The sides discussed in detail the issues of the Syrian settlement given the current worsening situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone," the statement reads. "In this context, they voiced hope that the upcoming March 5 Russian-Turkish high-level meeting will bear fruit."

The sides also agreed on further contacts.

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