17 Jan 2019; MEMO: Prime minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Al-Sarraj, and retired field marshal, General Khalifa Haftar, announced on Thursday that they will participate in the Berlin Conference to be held next Sunday to discuss the Libyan crisis.
Al-Sarraj confirmed that he would participate in the conference, and disclosed in his meeting, with political and military leaders in his government, that he is keen to invite countries with ties to the Libyan crisis.
He added that Haftar’s refusal to sign the ceasefire agreement reached by the concerned parties during the negotiations in Moscow, was an attempt to frustrate the Berlin Conference before it is held. Al-Sarraj also described the role of Turkey and Russia as positive, and referred to Europe’s failure to deal with the ongoing crisis in Libya.
Haftar announced his intention to participate in the conference. A source close to Haftar revealed that the Libyan general had received an official invitation from Germany to attend the Berlin Conference, confirming that he would travel with the speaker of the Tobruk Parliament, Aguila Saleh Issa.
Meanwhile, German chancellor, Angela Merkel, stated that the aim of the Berlin Conference is to ensure the warring parties’ commitment to the currently imposed arms embargo, which has been flagrantly violated, in order to pave the way for a political solution.
Merkel added that the participation of the Turkish and Russian presidents in the conference is a good sign, because it is not acceptable for anyone, who has already witnessed the displacement of millions of people in Syria, to wait for the same to happen in Libya.
The German chancellor considered that the continued entry of weapons and the interference of external actors would exacerbate the crisis in Libya, insisting that the conference will not be the last attempt to solve the issue, but rather the beginning of a political process led by the United Nations.
