Putin and Merkel expressed concern over an escalation of conflict in Libya

09 June 2020

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a telephone conversation expressed concern over the escalation of fighting in Libya via the phone, the Kremlin press service reports.

 

“The two leaders stressed that there is no alternative to the ceasefire and the soonest launch of United Nations-brokered intra-Libyan talks. The Russian side hailed Egypt’s mediatory efforts to promote peaceful settlement of the Libyan crisis in furtherance of the resolutions of the Berlin international conference on January 19, 2020”, the Kremlin says.

 

Another topic was Syrian settlement. The sides discussed key aspects of the situation in Syria, including issues of ensuring humanitarian demands of that country’s population, the report says.

 

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted  the lack of progress in implementing “Minsk-2”.

 

The Head of the Russian state once again stressed the necessity of a direct dialogue between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk to agree steps towards implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures, the press service says.

 

“The leaders continued to exchange views on the situation in the context of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The sides expressed concern over the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk accords of 2015 and resolutions of the Normandy Four summit in Paris in 2019”, the Kremlin press service says after a telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries.

 

Putin and Merkel also discussed other current issues, the coronavirus pandemic in particular. The President of the Russian Federation and the German Chancellor reiterated commitment to further close cooperation between the countries’ health ministries and other agencies concerned.

 

The conversation between the leaders of two countries was initiated by the German side, the Kremlin reports.