Russia and Turkey do not have fundamental differences on Libya. The postponement of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Istanbul is due to the need for a more thorough technical study of further steps, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Lavrov and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu would arrive in Turkey on Sunday at the head of an interdepartmental Russian delegation for consultations on regional issues. However, the postponement of the visit was later announced.
"The postponement of the meeting with Lavrov and the Russian delegation is not related to problems in our relations with Russia, we do not have any crisis or misunderstanding on fundamental issues regarding the situation in Libya. Just to establish a long-term truce in Libya, we need to discuss its details more, including with the participation of the Libyan side, to work out further steps. We spoke twice with Lavrov on the phone yesterday and decided to wait for a little, reschedule the meeting, " Cavusoglu said, speaking in Ankara.
He recalled that several meetings on the Libyan settlement did not bring the desired result.
"We met in Moscow and Berlin, and joint statements were adopted with the participation of many countries in Europe and Africa… However (the head of the LNA Khalifa) Haftar did not sign anything and, returning to Libya, continued his attacks. It turns out that our efforts did not bring the desired result. A truce cannot be one-sided. This means that a more detailed study of this issue is required, " the Turkish Minister added.
In Libya, the confrontation continues between the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Fayez Sarraj, which controls Tripoli and territories in the West of the country, and the Libyan National Army under the command of Khalifa Haftar, which has been trying to retake the capital for more than a year. Both sides of the conflict claim that the opponents receive assistance with weapons and manpower from outside. In recent weeks, the GNA forces have reported significant successes in the battle for Tripoli and have declared their intention to build on that success by taking control of the city of Sirte and other territories East of the capital.
In late January, Moscow attempted to sit at the negotiating table the main opposing forces of Libya, negotiations were held with the heads of Foreign and Defense Ministers of Russia and Turkey, with representatives of the Libyan sides. On June 3, a delegation of the Government of National Accord of Libya visited Moscow for talks with the Russian Foreign Ministry. GNA's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, following a meeting with Lavrov and the Russian Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the military escalation in Libya would decrease in the next few days "thanks to the efforts of Russian diplomacy." Lavrov at a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of the GNA called for an early ceasefire in Libya.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti