This morning, intensive consultations were held in Moscow with the participation of the Libyan parties and with the support of the Russian and Turkish foreign and defense ministers, which addressed issues related to the ceasefire announced on Sunday in response to the appeal made by Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The results of the consultations will be known tomorrow morning.
Nevertheless, a research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Center for Modern Turkish Studies Amur Hajiyev, believes that the Russian-Turkish initiative, which was announced on January 8 in Istanbul, can be considered the best, most authoritative and acceptable version of the Libyan settlement: "Previously attempts to resolve the situation in Libya were made by other authors of international relations, international organizations were involved, however, neither Paris’s efforts in July 2017 and May 2018 to conduct general elections in Libya, neither Rome's mediation activity in November 2018, nor Abu Dhabi's attempts to start the process by convening an international conference, nor Berlin's ideas have so far been able to bring the Libyan crisis closer to a solution. Various options for the Libyan settlement are being proposed now, but for one reason or another, all of them are deemed insufficient or ignored either by the Libyans or by the countries concerned."
Amur Hadzhiev names four aspects of why the Russian-Turkish initiative is so good.
First, in preparing the document, Moscow and Ankara relied heavily on the experience gained during many talks held between by Russia and Turkey in the framework of the Syrian settlement.
Second, Moscow and Ankara, realizing that the escalation of tension would risk exacerbating the situation, categorically reject any military solution and advocate an inclusive political dialogue with the Libyan people being the main actors. Moreover, the peace process is proposed to be launched under the auspices of the UN and on the basis of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Third, Russia and Turkey do not ignore the efforts of previous contenders for mediation. The parties propose to take those important developments into account that were achieved earlier, especially in the context of the Berlin process. This approach demonstrates the desire of Moscow and Ankara to solve the Libyan issue with maximum efficiency and minimal losses.
Fourth, the Russian-Turkish mediation is aimed at preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in Libya. That is why Putin and Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire, which is currently being implemented. The joint Russian-Turkish intermediate mechanisms worked out in Syria have already been effective in the face of various provocations by ill-wishers.
"The joint Russian-Turkish statement on Libya is a summary of earlier Russian-Turkish agreements in the context of the Syrian crisis. That is why this peace process is the most promising and attractive," Amur Hajiyev believes.
