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Russian president, EU council head hope for revival of Libya’s political process

The president of the European Council repeated that the European Union fully supports UN initiatives and the Berlin process

BRUSSELS, January 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the European Council Charles Michel have had a phone call and expressed hope that parties to the Libyan conflict will reach an agreement to implement ceasefire and restart political process, the council said in a statement on Thursday.

"The crisis in Libya poses significant regional risks," the statement reads. Putin and Michel "discussed the importance of the cessation of hostilities" and expressed hope that "all parties will come to an agreement to lock in a ceasefire and to re-launch the political process," the council said.

"The president of the European Council repeated that the European Union fully supports UN initiatives and the Berlin process," the document points out.

Read also

Haftar says he is ready to adhere to Libya ceasefire — German top diplomat

The statement also informs that Putin and Michel exchanged opinions on the developments involving Iran and the nuclear deal. "For the president of the European Council it is essential to reach out to all international partners in order to discuss options for de-escalation in Iran and Iraq. President Michel stressed that the European Union fully supports the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - TASS) as an important contribution to regional security and a key pillar of the global non-proliferation architecture," the statement says.

Earlier on Thursday, the Kremlin press service reported that the Russian leader had had a phone call with Michel to discuss current international issues, including the Libyan crisis and Iran’s rejecting obligations to the nuclear deal. Moreover, Putin and Michel reiterated that there are no alternatives to the Minsk Agreements.

Libyan conference

Germany is planning to hold an international conference in Berlin on January 19 to break the deadlock and achieve settlement in Libya where chaos has been reigning ever since Muammar al-Gaddafi was killed in 2011 and a two competing power authorities were established. The German government officially invited Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) sitting in Tripoli Fayez al-Sarraj and Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar to attend the conference. Representatives and leaders of Russia, Algeria, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the UAE, China, the Unites States, Turkey and France are also expected to take part in it.

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