MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : IMPORTANT MEETING – RUSSIANS WITH ERDOGAN
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss Libya and potential ceasefire there with Turkish counterparts Mevlut Cavusoglu and Hulusi Akar.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R)and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will discuss Libya and potential ceasefire there with Turkish counterparts Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) and Hulusi Akar.
Two senior Russian diplomats will visit Istanbul on Sunday for talks with their Turkish counterparts on the situation in Libya, broadcaster CNN Turk said on Saturday.
Other media carried similar reports, with Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber saying that the ministers would also discuss the situation in Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will discuss Libya and potential ceasefire there with Turkish counterparts Mevlut Cavusoglu and Hulusi Akar.
Algeria offers to mediate
Meanwhile, Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Saturday said Libya’s conflict doesn’t have a military solution and that his country is ready to help end the conflict there.
“The solution for Libya cannot be military,” Tebboune said, according to an official statement.
“Algeria stands at equidistance from all parties and is ready to help end the crisis.”
Tebboune said: “Algeria is very sad about the situation in which this sister country finds itself because it has experienced such tragedies and knows how to get out of them.”
EU-NATO talks
Also on Saturday, EU said moves to cooperate with NATO over a naval mission enforcing an arms embargo on Libya were not prompted by a recent incident in which Greek navy tried to stop Turkish frigates and a Turkish cargo ship en route to Libya.
The Greek ship retreated after a warning from the Turkish ships.
“This is part of a natural process between two organisations that are cooperating and working together to achieve common results: the security and stability of Europe and its neighbourhood,” the EU spokesperson said in a statement issued late Friday.
“This cooperation was not triggered in any way by any recent events – it is rather part of our natural and usual dialogue and exchanges.”
NATO on Friday confirmed it was looking at how its Operation Sea Guardian, which has two ships patrolling the Mediterranean, could support the EU’s new Operation, Irini.
Mass graves in Tarhuna
Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (or GNA), has in recent weeks repelled assault on Tripoli by warlord Khalifa Haftar’s illegal militia.
GNA also recaptured Tarhouna, ending a 14-month offensive on the capital by the eastern-based Haftar militia, earlier in June.
United Nations says at least eight mass graves have been discovered in the town of Tarhuna, a key western area that served as a main stronghold for Khalifa’s militia in their campaign to capture capital Tripoli.
The discoveries have raised fears about the extent of human rights violations in territories controlled by Hafter’s militia, given the difficulties of documentation in an active war zone.