Russia urges all parties to the Libyan conflict to comply with the Geneva Pact
Russia has described this Saturday's permanent ceasefire agreement signed on Friday between the governments in conflict in Libya as an "important step" and urged the rebel marshal Khalifa Haftar and the National Accord Government (NAG) to comply fully with the peace pact sealed in Geneva.
"We consider this an important step towards overcoming the prolonged and acute crisis in Libya, establishing a comprehensive and sustainable dialogue with the final objective of restoring the unity of the country, creating viable government bodies and reactivating a socio-economic infrastructure," the Foreign Ministry said.
"We urge all parties to strictly adhere to the peace agreements reached in Geneva and to avoid a retreat into fratricidal civil conflict," Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharovic said in a statement.
Representatives of the UN-recognised ANG in Tripoli and of the non-recognised parliament in Tobruk, which is under the protection of Haftar, the strongman in the east of the country, signed a permanent ceasefire on Friday, which also implies the departure of any foreign forces from the country within three months.
The United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced this week "a permanent ceasefire in all areas of Libya", signed by the military representatives of the main Libyan factions: the Libyan Joint Military Committee (5+5).
The signing of this permanent ceasefire signifies the consolidation of the provisional ceasefire that was announced in August between the Tripoli National Accord Government (NAG) led by Fayez Sarraj and the provisional government of the Tobruk House of Representatives, led by Aguila Saleh and a supporter of Khalifa Haftar, marshal of the LNA.
"The 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva today culminate in a historic achievement as Libyan teams reach a permanent ceasefire agreement across Libya. This achievement is an important turning point towards peace and stability in the country," says the UN mission's statement.
This week, during the round of talks held in Geneva, both sides agreed to reopen land and air routes between the two factions.
Flights between the Libyan capital and Benghazi resumed on Friday after an 18-month hiatus amidst an easing of tensions between a Tripoli-based administration and rival authorities in the eastern city. "A plane from Afriqiyah Airways ... landed Friday morning at Benina International Airport" from Tripoli's Mitiga Airport, carrying a delegation of Libyan airline representatives along with aviation officials, the National Accord Government said on Facebook.
The armed conflict that has been going on in Libya since the emergence of the NAG in 2016 has in the last year turned into a multinational armed confrontation, totally privatized, waged by local militias and foreign mercenary companies, including Russian ones.
Russia, which supports Haftar and its Haftar National Liberation Army (LNA), and Turkey, a GNA ally, had been attempting to broker a permanent ceasefire since the beginning of the year.
