Germany yesterday brought together the key players in Libya’s long-running civil war, seeking to curb foreign military interference, solidify a ceasefire and help relaunch a political process to stop the chaos in the nation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited leaders from 12 countries as well as the UN, the EU, the African Union and the Arab League to the summit at the chancellery in Berlin.
Germany’s months-long diplomatic drive seeks to bolster efforts to stop the fighting in Libya by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.
Photo: Reuters
Among those taking part were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Libya’s rival leaders: Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar.
However, the chances of the summit producing any real progress are unclear.
A truce brokered earlier this month by Russia and Turkey marked the first break in fighting in months, but the ceasefire has seen repeated violations.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Speaking at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before flying to the summit, Erdogan said the world had failed to respond adequately to Haftar’s “reckless attacks” on Sarraj’s UN-recognized government.
“Hopes that flourish again with the ceasefire and the Berlin summit should not be sacrificed to the ambitions of the merchants of blood and chaos,” he said.
Libya is divided into rival administrations: the UN-recognized government based in Tripoli, headed by Sarraj, and one based in the country’s east, supported by Haftar’s forces and backed by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Germany’s priority is to try to get the outside players that have interests in the conflict on the same page, stem the flow of weapons to Libya and ensure that the ceasefire sticks — creating space for UN-led efforts to re-establish a political process in Libya.
German officials have been careful to keep expectations in check.
“The conference is important, but it is a beginning, the start of a process,” spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said.
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