Russian and Turkish sponsored talks to end Libya’s civil war broke down after eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar rejected the agreement and left Moscow.
His departure calls into question a fragile truce that went into force at the weekend. Libya’s United Nations-recognized prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, had signed the deal on Monday after a day of negotiations brokered by Russia and Turkey as they seized the initiative from the west in attempting to end nine months of fighting around the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Haftar and his delegation left Moscow without signing the accord, according to two officials from his Libyan National Army. Hours earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told reporters at a news conference that Haftar had asked for more time to consider the agreement.
The breakdown in negotiations threatens a renewal of the battle for Tripoli. Russian mercenaries back Haftar’s forces, as do Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey has sent three dozen soldiers to Libya to help train forces loyal to Sarraj and coordinate the defense of his government, according to a senior Turkish official. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have also joined the fray.
Continue Efforts
Extremists from Syria’s Idlib are moving to Libya, Lavrov told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Sri Lanka. Russia and Turkey “will continue our efforts” to secure agreement and “the final result has not yet been achieved,” he said.
The failure to reach a deal casts doubt over the prospects for success of an international conference on Libya hosted by Germany that’s planned for this weekend. With Libya a gateway for migrants destined for Europe, the European Union is desperate for a settlement to help ease political tensions across the bloc over rising anti-immigrant sentiment.
An accord would have spared Libya further fighting after years of upheaval that has left thousands dead and allowed Islamist extremists to dig in. It would also have removed a key uncertainty for the oil market. Crude production in Libya, home to Africa’s largest proven reserves, has fluctuated as the warring sides fought over some of the country’s largest fields.
Russia and Turkey pushed the fighting parties to accept the cease-fire as Libya endured its worst violence since the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of Moammar Qaddafi, which ushered in years of instability that divided the country between rival administrations.
Haftar had launched the offensive on Tripoli, which has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced tens of thousands, as the UN was laying the ground for a political conference to unite the country.
With the U.S. largely disengaged as the Trump administration focuses on Iran, Libya risked becoming a pawn in a proxy conflict between powers vying for dominance in the region. The breakdown of the Russian and Turkish effort to halt the conflict adds to a long list of failed attempts to secure agreement between the two warring parties in the country.
“We have worked with our Russian partners all day long for the factions in Libya to sign a cease-fire letter and we drafted a text,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said alongside Lavrov on Monday. “We have taken into account suggestions, especially from the Haftar side, to reach a mutual understanding.”
The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, had warned on Sunday ahead of the talks that “some people are still dreaming” of a military solution to the conflict.
“In order to push for a peaceful solution, you need to put something on the table,” he said. You need to put your leverage into action.”
Source: Bloomberg
