On July 22, 2020, Türkiye announced that it agreed with Russia that the Libyan conflict would not be resolved through military means and that it could only be settled through an UN-facilitated, Libyan-led-and-owned political process.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the two countries would continue joint efforts, including encouraging the Libyan sides to the conflict, to create “conditions for a lasting and sustainable ceasefire.”

The ministry said that in high-level consultations, Ankara and Moscow agreed to facilitate the “advancement of the intra-Libyan political dialogue” in line with the 2020 Berlin Conference on Libya and in coordination with the UN.

No: 156, 22 July 2020, Joint Statement on the Turkish-Russian High-Level Consultations on Libya (Ankara, 22 July 2020)

The Republic of Türkiye and the Russian Federation whose leaders launched an initiative in Istanbul on 8 January 2020 to de-escalate the situation on the ground and to pave the way for a political process in Libya,

– Reaffirming their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Libya, as well as to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter;

– Expressing the conviction that there is no military solution to the Libyan conflict and it can only be solved through a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned, UN-facilitated political process;

– Emphasizing the necessity to combat terrorist individuals and entities as designated by the UN Security Council;

– Reaffirming their determination to continue bilateral interaction in order to achieve security and stability in the country and improve the humanitarian situation.

Agreed on the following:

1. Continue joint efforts, including encouraging the Libyan parties, with a view to creating conditions for a lasting and sustainable ceasefire.
2. Facilitate the advancement of the intra-Libyan political dialogue in line with the conclusions of the Berlin Conference on Libya (19 January 2020) and in coordination with the UN.
3. Call upon the parties to take measures in order to ensure safe humanitarian access and delivery of urgent assistance to all those in need.
4. Consider creating a Joint Working Group on Libya and convene the next round of consultations in Moscow in the near future.

Comments

In January, a conference took place in the German capital Berlin in order to start a political process and reach a permanent cease-fire in Libya. Global powers and regional actors expressed commitment to support a cease-fire, respect arms embargo and support the UN-facilitated political process.

Libya’s legitimate government has been under attack by Haftar’s forces since last April, and more than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Haftar has the support of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Russia while the UN-recognized government is backed by Türkiye.

The Libyan government has recently achieved significant victories against Haftar, pushing his forces out of Tripoli and the strategic city of Tarhuna.

This article was edited using the data from the www.anews.com.tr, www.aa.com.tr, and www.mid.ru.