Berlin expects a sustainable truce in Libya based on the results of the work of the 5+5 military committee, German government official Steffen Seibert said in a briefing on Monday.
According to the UN mission in Libya, the next round of negotiations on a ceasefire will be held in Geneva on February 18. Earlier, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya Hassan Salame said that a new round of inter-Libyan negotiations on political issues is scheduled to begin in Geneva on February 26.
“We consider the continuation of this format (of the 5+5 military committee) to be an encouraging step from the very fragile truce that we have now, what we are observing there, towards a real truce”, – Seibert said.
With the overthrow and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has effectively ceased to function as one state. Now it is a dual power country. In the east, a parliament elected by the people sits, while in the west, in the capital, Tripoli, the Government of National Accord, formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, rules. The authorities in the eastern part of the country operate independently of Tripoli and cooperate with the army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
An international conference on Libya was held in Berlin on January 19 with the participation of Russia, the United States, Turkey, Egypt and a number of other countries, as well as the EU and the UN. At the summit were both the Prime Minister of the ruling country in the west, in Tripoli, the Libyan Government of National Accord Fayez Sarrage, and the leading attack on Tripoli, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who collaborates with the East Libyan authorities, although it was not possible to organize direct negotiations between them again.
The main outcome of the conference was a call for a ceasefire in Libya and a commitment to refrain from interfering in the conflict while respecting the arms embargo on the parties. In addition, the meeting proposed the establishment of a committee to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. The first meeting of the committee was held yesterday in Munich, where Russia was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.