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Berlin talks to seek political solution to Libya crisis

January 17, 2020 at 10:30 pm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany on 14 November 2019 [Abdülhamid Hoşbaş/Anadolu Agency]

Germany is set to host a major peace conference on Libya that will seek a stronger commitment from regional actors for a cease-fire in the war-torn country to pave the way for a political solution, Anadolu Agency reports.

Chancellor Angela Merkel invited leaders from Turkey, Russia, the US, China, France, the UK and other regional actors to a single-day conference in Berlin on Sunday, amid a fragile cease-fire between Libya’s internationally recognised government and forces loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar.

The German government cautioned against high expectations ahead of the conference and underlined that a single meeting could not end the conflict, but would be the beginning of a political process under the auspices of the United Nations.

Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert confirmed on Friday that both Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar accepted invitations for the conference.

READ: Haftar and Sarraj to participate in Berlin Conference, Greece upset