Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, discussed the situation in Libya and agreed to continue consultations in order to help a ceasefire and start a dialogue.
“A comprehensive exchange of views took place on the situation in Libya. The two ministers pointed out that there is no alternative to a political solution for the crisis. This solution must be for the sake of the Libyan people, and on the basis of international law, and in particular, UN Security Council Resolution 2510 and the decisions of the Berlin Conference held on January 19,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It was agreed to continue consultations to help the parties to stop their military operations, and to start a dialogue between the Libyans on ways to solve the conflict politically,” the statement added.
A few days ago, the Russian and Turkish presidents, Russian Vladimir Putin and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressed the need for the parties in Libya to take real steps for a ceasefire and the start of direct negotiations.
On Monday, the Kremlin said: “Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The main attention was given to the problems of the Libyan crisis. The need for real steps by the warring parties towards a sustainable ceasefire and the start of direct negotiations was also emphasized. This is according to the decisions of the Berlin Conference and Resolution 2510 of the UN Security Council.”
“They also discussed the situation in Syria with an emphasis on intensifying joint efforts in combating terrorism,” the statement added. “The leaders agreed further coordination to achieve the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone, including the Additional Protocol to the Sochi Memorandum of 2018, which was adopted in Moscow on March 5th.”