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Erdogan does not rule out talks with Putin on Libya - agency

Earlier, the White House informed that Trump and Erdogan had held a phone call on Monday

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not rule out holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the current situation in Libya.

"After the talks with [US President Donald] Trump, a new stage may begin in the American-Turkish relations with regards to the [transition] process [in Libya]; we have reached an agreement on various issues. <…> At the same time, this (the situation in Libya - TASS) must be discussed with Mr. Putin. I may hold talks with him as well," the Turkish leader noted, quoted by the Anadolu Agency.

Earlier, the White House informed that Trump and Erdogan had held a phone call on Monday, during which they discussed the situation in Libya, Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean region, as well as the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Currently, Libya has two parallel bodies of executive power: the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and Abdullah Abdurrahman al-Thani’s interim government, operating in the country’s east together with parliament and supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Commander Khalifa Haftar. For over a year, the warring parties have been fighting for Libya’s capital Tripoli.

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 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.