Libya's Sarraj meets with US ambassador to Turkey
Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, left Russia on Jan. 14, after indirect peace talks in Moscow failed to achieve a breakthrough a day earlier. On his way back, Sarraj made a stop-over in Istanbul where he met with the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield. The U.S. Embassy said they discussed “issues of mutual interest.”
Duvar English
Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, on Jan. 14 met with the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield, at an hotel in Istanbul. The U.S. Embassy said they discussed “issues of mutual interest."
The meeting took place as Sarraj was on his way back from Moscow, where he participated in peace talks initiated by Russia and Turkey.
Russian and Turkish presidents proposed a ceasefire last week in hopes of bringing an end to the north African country's long-running civil war. Sarraj and his rival, Gen. Khalifa Hafter, went to Moscow on Jan. 13 for talks with Russian and Turkish diplomats and military officials.
After more than eight hours of talks, Serraj signed a draft document spelling out details of a truce, but Haftar left for Libya on Jan. 14 without signing the agreement.
The Russian Defense Ministry was quoted by Interfax news agency on Jan. 14 as saying Haftar had been positive about the ceasefire deal and was taking two days to discuss it with tribes that support his forces.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Haftar had "run away." "If the putschist Haftar's attacks against the people and legitimate government of Libya continue, we will never refrain from teaching him the lesson he deserves," Erdoğan said in a speech to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmakers in parliament.
Erdoğan was speaking days before a summit which Germany is hosting with the United Nations on Jan. 19.
The conference will involve the rival camps, their main foreign backers and representatives from the U.N., the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, Turkey and Italy.
"The goal of this process is, with a group of states and international organisations, to support the efforts of the United Nations for a sovereign Libya and for the reconciliation process within Libya," the German government said.
Sarraj and Haftar have both been invited to the conference. Sarraj is backed by Turkey, while Haftar's Libya National Army (LNA) faction is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which have for years provided training and weapons, according to U.N. reports.