ANKARA, January 12. /TASS/. Ceasefire in Libya and in the Idlib de-escalation zone in northern Syria introduced at the initiative of Russia and Turkey largely holds, Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Sunday.
"Ceasefire in Libya and Idlib entered into force from 00:01 on January 12. Ceasefire introduced in two regions is an important step for establishing peace and stability. Since the ceasefire declaration the sides have been trying to observe truce. The situation remains calm except for one or two incidents," the statement said.
Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense reported on January 10 that Ankara and Moscow had agreed on the implementation of the ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone in northern Syria from January 12. However, on January 9 Head of the Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Maj. Gen. Yuri Borenkov announced introducing ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone from 14:00 Moscow Time on Thursday.
Idlib is the only Syrian region that is still controlled by illegal armed groups. A northern de-escalation zone was set up in Idlib in 2017 to give shelter to militants and their families who were reluctant to voluntarily surrender arms in Eastern Ghouta and in Syria’s southern regions. Twelve Turkish army’s observation points are operating in the Idlib governorate.
On January 8, at the Russian-Turkish summit in Istanbul, the two countries’ presidents urged all the conflicting parties in Libya to stop fighting at midnight on January 12. On Saturday evening, the Libyan National Army announced backing the ceasefire, and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord later voiced its support for the initiative. Shortly after the ceasefire came into effect, the conflicting sides started trading blame for violating it.
Libyan crisis
Currently, Libya has two supreme executive authorities, namely the internationally recognized Tripoli-based Government of National Accord headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and the interim government of Abdullah al-Thani, seated in the east of the country, alongside the parliament, which is supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. On December 12, 2019, Haftar announced the launch of a win-the-war offensive against Tripoli, aiming to eradicate terrorist groups operating there.
On January 2, Turkey’s parliament approved a bill that would allow the government to send troops to Libya. This step sparked a wave of criticism across the region. On January 5, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the beginning of Turkish troops’ deployment to Libya. Erdogan pointed out that the force would be "tasked with carrying out coordination actions" and with "ensuring the security of [Libya's] legitimate government," but would not be involved in fighting.