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US will advocate for continuation of ceasefire in Libya at conference — official

The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo at the international conference on Libya in Berlin on January 19

WASHINGTON, January 16. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will advocate for the continuation of a ceasefire in Libya at the international conference in Berlin on January 19, a senior official of the US Department of State told reporters during a special briefing on Thursday.

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Pompeo to attend international conference on Libya in Berlin

"In Berlin, the Secretary will engage with world leaders, and he's going to advocate for three things: one, the continuation of a ceasefire in Libya; two, the withdrawal of all external forces; and three, a return to a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process," the senior official said.

He added that "the United States will continue to support Libyan parties in achieving a long-term cessation of hostilities and a political settlement that will enable all Libyans to enjoy a more peaceful future."

"So the successful outcome would be the — number one, the primary issue there is a ceasefire. So other things, of course, would be nice to have and, in fact, they're important. I don't want to downplay them, but the imperative would be the continuation of a ceasefire," the official said.

When asked about whether there are still US forces in Libya, the official said: "So on the question of U.S. forces, I must refer ou to DOD [Department of Defense] on that front."

When commenting on the recent announcement that Turkey is sending its troops to Libya, the official said that "we are very keen to see that there are no external or foreign interventions." "We do not want the conflict widened beyond what it has already become, and this is a situation now where their interventions, the foreign interventions, are only exacerbating humanitarian crises in the country," he added.

On Janaury 19, an international conference on Libya will be held in Berlin. It is expected that Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli Fayez al-Sarraj and Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar will attend the conference. Heads of state of Russia, Algeria, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey and France will also take part in the conference.

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