Arab foreign ministers said on Tuesday they wanted to avoid a new battle in Libya and called for a truce like The warring parties mobilize near the main oil region as their foreign sponsors threaten an escalation.
“Libya it is going through a dangerous turn in the course of its conflict, “Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
“The military option will not win anywhere … and military action will not bring peace or establish stability on Libyan soil,” Gheit said at an online emergency meeting of foreign ministers. The meeting was convened by Egypt to discuss the latest developments in its neighbor.
“The political solution is the only way to resolve the Libyan crisis,” he said after an online meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
A ceasefire on all battle fronts, especially around Sirte, will allow Libyan parties to re-engage in negotiations negotiated by the United Nations to reach an agreement for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire across the country, Abul Gheit said.
Before the meeting, Libya Government of National Agreement (GNA) internationally recognized He declined Egypt’s invitation to hold a meeting, saying that the allies of renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar were initiating calls for peace talks.
Earlier in the week, the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi he called on the GNA to halt its counteroffensive against Haftar forces east of the capital Tripoli, threatening military intervention and criticizing Turkish involvement in Libya.
Mahmoud Abdulwahed of Al Jazeera, reporting from the capital Tripoli, said the GNA rejected any Egyptian initiative as it accused Cairo of declaring war on Libya.
“They say Egypt violated Libya’s sovereignty by threatening to intervene in the country,” he said.
“Libya’s internationally recognized government plans to reduce its diplomatic representation in the Arab League because of what it calls the double standard the league adopted in relation to the Libyan crisis.”
‘Dangerous game’
In a sign of convergence between France and Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he could understand the “legitimate concern” ofYes Yes.
“I don’t want in six months, or a year or two, to see Libya in the situation Syria is in today,” said Macron, who also accused NATO member Turkey of playing a “dangerous game “in Libya. .
Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry responded to French criticism of its intervention in Libya in support of the GNA, saying that Macron must have suffered a “mental eclipse” to oppose Ankara’s support for the Tripoli-based government.
“The current problems in Libya are caused by the attacks of the coup leader Haftar, who [Macron] who supports and who is a warlord who rejected the ceasefire agreements in Moscow and Berlin, “said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy, referring to international efforts to end the fighting in January .
LibyaThe front lines have changed rapidly in recent months as Ankara’s increased support helped the GNA push east-based Haftar Libyan National Army (LNA) of Tripoli and northwest.
LNA Withdrawal
The LNA, backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt, has backed down to Sirte, on the central Mediterranean coast, where air strikes have halted the GNA’s advance.
Both sides are preparing to fight for Sirte. LNA’s withdrawal to Sirte was a severe blow to Haftar, whose aim to unite Libya forcibly after years of chaos and division he depended on the offensive he launched in April 2019 to capture Tripoli.
Any further progress by the GNA would give him the opportunity to regain control over LibyaThe “oil crescent”, the region where most of the energy of OPEC members is produced and exported.
Its military success in recent weeks has depended in part on the support of Turkish drones, which attacked LNA supply lines and troop formations.
Last month, the United States said that Russia had flown fighter jets to an LNA base and last week, it said they were now operating in the vicinity of Sirte.
However, diplomats say a new battle for the city: the western gateway to LibyaEurope’s main oil terminals could still be avoided, especially if Turkey and Russia can reach an agreement.
Russia said on Tuesday that it wanted a Stop the fire in Libya and denied a UN report last month that said there were as many as 1,200 mercenaries fighting in the country.
