Berlin Confernce Kicks Off, US Official Talks about Complicated Issues

Reuters published a draft for the final statement of the peace conference on Libya, currently held in Berlin, that it would call on all Libyan parties for a cease fire and refrain from targeting oil plants. According to "Reuters", the draft also recognizes that the National Oil Company, based in Tripoli, is the only legal entity authorized to sell Libyan oil.

On his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that expecting to solve all problems in Libya through the Berlin conference would be overly optimistic, adding that "we must continue these efforts so that we can achieve our goals after the Berlin conference."

The five permanent members of the Security Council will participate in the conference, in addition to Egypt, Italy, Algeria, the UAE, the Congo and Turkey, alongside the two warring parties: Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army, and Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli.

European Union Foreign Minister Joseph Burrell had earlier called on European countries participating in the summit to "transcend their pisions" and engage more in finding a solution to ending the conflict. He said in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, "If a ceasefire is reached on Sunday, the European Union should be ready to help implement and monitor this ceasefire, perhaps through soldiers as part of an EU mission." The European Union, especially Germany, is concerned about the possibility of an influx of migrants if the situation in Libya deteriorates.

On his part, Al-Sarraj criticized the level of Europeans' involvement so far, saying "Unfortunately, the role of the European Union so far has been very modest." Al-Sarraj called for the deployment of an "international protection force" in Libya, in case the Libyan National Army resumed battles.

On his part, a US State Department official said that the conflict in Libya has become increasingly similar to the Syrian conflict. "I think it is very complicated and everyone sticks to his position, so my expectations are modest," the official told reporters accompanying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when asked about the chances of success of the summit.