Rival factions failed to stick to ceasefire agreements
Foreign ministers to meet on Libya in mid-March
German FM says all foreign ministers present at recent Libya conference in Berlin will meet again in mid-March to broker peace deal in war-torn North African country.
Monday 03/02/2020
Rival factions failed to stick to ceasefire agreements
FRANKFURT - Foreign ministers of countries seeking to broker a peace agreement in Libya are due to meet again in the middle of March, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.
Foreign powers had agreed at a January 19 summit in Berlin to shore up a shaky truce in Libya.
But rival factions failed to stick to ceasefire agreements and countries supporting either the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar or the internationally recognised government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj did not stop supplying weapons.
"All foreign ministers present at the recent Libya conference in Berlin will meet again in mid-March," Maas told German broadcaster ZDF.
It was important that the Libyan factions should meet "within the next few days", he said.
A commission made up of military officials from each side, formed at the Berlin conference, failed to make a meeting that would have been held under United Nations auspices and was originally scheduled for last Wednesday.
Germany would work with the UN Security Council to craft a resolution so that countries breaking the UN weapons embargo would "have to expect consequences," Maas said.
France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier last week spotted a Turkish frigate escorting a cargo ship delivering armoured vehicles to the Libyan capital Tripoli in defiance of a UN embargo.
The cargo ship Bana docked in Tripoli port on Wednesday, said a French military source, who asked not to be named. According to the Marine Traffic specialist website, the vessel was recorded Thursday off the coast of Sicily.
The claim came a day after President Emmanuel Macron angered Ankara by accusing his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan of failing "to keep his word" to end meddling in the north African country.
Specifically, Macron said Turkish ships had in recent days been seen taking ships laden with pro-Ankara Syrian mercenaries to Libya.
The UN Security Council has since February 2011 imposed an arms embargo on Libya, relating to the supply of arms and military equipment to and from the country.