Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar is ready for a truce, media reported. Political analyst Anton Bredikhin shared his opinion on why this became possible.
The commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Marshal Khalifa Haftar, is ready to sign a peace agreement with the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya, sitting in Tripoli.
According to al-Sharq al-Awsat, Haftar informed French President Emanuel Macron that he would conclude a cease-fire if the GNA, led by Faiz Saraj, respected it. Haftar is currently in Paris on an official visit.
In January, inter-Libyan negotiations were held in Moscow with the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation and Turkey. Then Haftar left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with Saraj.
In February, after the meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Haftar explained his decision.
“The ceasefire should be the result of a number of conditions. These conditions include the withdrawal of Syrian and Turkish mercenaries, the cessation of the supply of arms by Turkey to Tripoli, the elimination and disarmament of militants and terrorist groups, as well as the agreement on the establishment of a national government that will accept the people of Libya and which will make decisions based on the constitution”, – he said in an interview.
Ankara’s position then didn’t make it possible to reach a peace, said Anton Bredikhin, a political scientist, Ph.D.
“I think that during the meeting in Moscow the problem was the role of the Turkish side, because then there was still no balance in relations and an understanding of whether Turkey would do anything further in Libya. Now we see that the position of Russia dominates, and both sides are ready to go along the line proposed by Russia – both Haftar and the PNS can sit at the negotiating table, while peace in Libya will be guaranteed by a stable document”, – Anton Bredikhin said.
In his opinion, Moscow will continue the negotiation process on Libya.
“Russia will continue to support Libya economically – this is our partner, we have prospects for further development. Therefore, I think Russia will continue to be the most active participant in the Libyan negotiation process”, – said Anton Bredikhin