German Maas: Libya’s General Hifter willing to adopt cease-fire
German foreign minister flew to Benghazi on short notice to persuade Libya's rival leaders to join a peace summit in Berlin. "It is a good message that he is willing to keep to the ceasefire," said Chancellor Merkel.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday said Libya’s General Khalifa Hifter has agreed in principle to a cease-fire in the country.
Maas flew to Benghazi at short notice on Thursday for crisis talks with Hifter, who is the commander of eastern Libyan forces, ahead of Sunday’s Libya conaference to be held in Berlin.
“General Hifter has signaled his readiness to contribute to the success of the Libya Conference in Berlin and is willing to participate,” German Foreign Office said in a tweet. “He has repeated his commitment to observe the existing cease-fire,” the tweet added.
Auswärtiges Amt✔@AuswaertigesAmt
Außenminister @HeikoMaas nach Gespräch mit General Haftar in Bengasi:
General Haftar hat deutlich gemacht: Er will zum Erfolg der Libyen-Konferenz in Berlin einen Beitrag leisten und ist grds. bereit teilzunehmen. Er hat zugesagt, den bestehenden Waffenstillstand einzuhalten.
Earlier in the week, Hifter refused to sign a ceasefire agreement in Moscow with his rival, Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj. Following the meeting with Maas, Hifter is now expected to join the Libya summit.
“It is a good message that he is willing to keep to the ceasefire,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said later on Thursday.
“At the Libya conference we must above all see that the weapons embargo is adhered to again, which is basically agreed by the UN but unfortunately not kept to,” she added.
During his trip, Maas also was expected to speak on behalf of EU foreign ministers to Sarraj, who leads the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). Sarraj will also attend the peace summit.
“With the Berlin process, we have the best chance for a long time to start peace talks for Libya,” said Maas ahead of his trip. “Our message is clear: No one can win this conflict militarily. On the contrary, a window now opens to free the conflict from international influence.”
Front lines in Libya What is the Libya conflict?
Since the overthrow of long-standing ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has been in a state of flux.
The internationally recognized GNA holds Tripoli, but since April, it has been under sustained attack by Hifter’s Libyan National Army (LNA), which is supported by a rival administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
A cease-fire arrangement brokered by Russia and Turkey broke down on Tuesday with no obvious resolution to the impasse in sight.
Germany is hoping Sunday’s Libya conference will pave the way for a political process and intra-Libyan negotiations on a post-war order under the aegis of UN Special Representative Ghassan Salame.
“I hope that the parties take this opportunity to take Libya’s future back into Libyan hands,” Maas said ahead of his trip.
This would require a readiness for a real cease-fire and the participation of both parties to the conflict in the dialogue formats proposed by the UN.
Participants at Sunday’s peace summit are expected to include France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Rjeep Tayyip Erdogan.
