Libya’s warring leaders made some progress at indirect peace talks in Moscow on Monday but failed to agree on an unconditional and open-ended ceasefire.
In talks that lasted about eight hours, mediators Russia and Turkey urged the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Government of National Accord (GNA) to sign a binding truce to end a nine-month-old war and pave the way for a settlement that would stabilize the North African country.
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj signed the ceasefire agreement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said LNA commander Khalifa Haftar had asked for more time to consider the ceasefire.
“Today we can report that some progress was made,” Lavrov told reporters at the elegant 19th century Moscow mansion where the talks were held.
Cavusoglu told reporters Haftar wanted to have until Tuesday morning to make up his mind.
Haftar and Sarraj did not meet officially during the indirect talks, the Interfax news agency cited a member of the Russian delegation.
The two men last met in Abu Dhabi in February last year before talks broke down over a power-sharing deal and Haftar moved his troops on Tripoli in April, expanding his control beyond the east and south.
The Moscow talks come after a ceasefire, initiated by Turkey and Russia, saw a lull in heavy fighting and air strikes on Sunday, though both factions accused each other of violating that truce as skirmishes continued around Tripoli.
Reuters journalists in Tripoli said it was quiet in the center on Monday and that they could hear no clashes or shelling.
Mitiga airport, the capital’s only functioning airport, had resumed operations, a Reuters witness said. Flights were suspended earlier this month due to rockets falling nearby.
The truce was declared ahead of an international conference on Libya, scheduled for Berlin at the end of the month. Two participants in the preparatory negotiations said the meeting would be held on January 19.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the summit on Saturday, adding that the United Nations would lead talks if a meeting were to take place in Berlin. She said Libya’s warring parties would need to play a major role if a solution was to be found.
Merkel said the aim was to give Libya the chance of becoming a sovereign and peaceful country
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said there were plans to hold a Libya conference in Berlin in January but declined to confirm the date.
