Signing of deal between Libyan belligerents in Moscow postponed to Tuesday
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The first day of talks between Libyan belligerents led by Russian and Turkish mediators ended here Monday without a ceasefire deal, with the chief of the Libyan army calling for an extra deadline on Tuesday to sign the document.
The Russian foreign affairs minister, Sergueï Lavrov, said in Moscow said that no deal was concluded between the commander of the Libyan national army, Marshall Khalifa Haftar, and the chairman of the presidential council of the government of national accord, Fayez Al-Sarraj.
Lavrov announced at a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, that “significant progress had been made in the talks without reaching an agreement”, adding that certain parties in the Libyan peace talks signed it but Haftar wanted time to make his mind.
He said that Haftar wanted “to add elements” in the ceasefire document before signing it and that the "decision is positive", stressing that the speaker of the Libyan House of Representative (Parliament), Aguila Saleh, was informed about the document.
Lavrov added at a news conference that progress was made in the negotiations with the delegation of the government of national accord chaired by the leader of the presidential council, Fayez Al-Sarraj, who has already signed the deal.
He said the representatives of the Russian and Turkish parties continued working to reach that agreement.
The Turkish minister of foreign affairs, Cavusoglu, announced that the delegation of the government of national accord signed the ceasefire deal during the meetings held in the Russian capital, Moscow, while Marshall Khalifa Haftar “asked for a deadline until Tuesday morning to sign the deal”.
Cavusoglu explained the Russian-Turkish efforts undertaken on 8 January calling for ceasefire and peace, which came into force on Saturday night.
He stressed the meetings held on Monday in the Russian capital to prepare for a ceasefire document, explaining that the deal took into account the ‘agreement’ between the proposals of each of the delegations chaired by Al-Sarraj and Marshall Haftar.
The presence of the two main protagonists of the Libyan conflict in Moscow to sign the document consolidating the ceasefire sparked hope of a peace deal in Libya, according to analysts, who predicted that the international Berlin Conference to be held soon would end the crisis in the North African country after six months of deadly fighting at the gates of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
-0- PANA BY/IS/MSA/RA 13Jan2020
