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Erdogan, Merkel discuss Libya by phone ahead of Berlin conference

Germany plans to host an international conference on Libya in Berlin on January 19

ANKARA, January 18. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks by phone ahead of the international conference on Libya scheduled for Sunday in Berlin, the Turkish leader’s office told reporters on Saturday.

"At the talks, [they] focused on regional issues, primarily Libya," Erdogan’s office said.

Germany plans to host an international conference on Libya in Berlin on January 19. After the killing of Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya plunged into chaos followed by a period of de facto diarchy. The Libya conference is expected to be attended by delegations, including heads of state and government, from Russia, Algeria, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, China, the United States, Turkey and France. Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of the internationally recognized Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army, are reported to attend the conference.

Libya 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 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.

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