The Secretary of State of the United States Mike Pompeo said Saturday that Washington will continue to take tangible measures to respond to massive human rights violations in Libya.
Germany and other European nations have suspected Ankara of violating the United Nations Security Council’s arms embargo against civil-war-torn Libya. On Monday, German authorities confirmed that an attempted inspection of a Turkish-flagged cargo ship bound for the North African nation was stopped following a vocal protest by Turkish authorities.
The former US envoy to Libya Jonathan Winer said Washington could adopt a “pragmatic approach” to Libya under the new Joe Biden Administration to replace the negligence approach of Donald Trump Administration.
The Acting UN Envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, has stressed the need to address the fragile situation in Libya and work on all tracks to tackle the crisis.
The UN-recognised government in Tripoli and its US allies are banking on the incoming President-elect Joe Biden administration to ramp up Washington’s focus on Libya and deal a death blow to the political ambitions of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday called on the international community to stop foreign interference in the Libyan crisis, noting that unilateral actions by Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean has been affecting the situation in Libya.
Invited by the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the chairman of the Tobruk-based parliament arrived in Russia on an official visit yesterday and was welcomed upon arrival by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Libyan commander and his militia, which rights groups accuse of detaining, torturing and killing civilians in the war-wracked country.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters at the Turkish parliament in the capital Ankara Tuesday that European Union’s Operation IRINI was stillborn, saying “it has lacked a solid basis in terms of international law since the beginning”.
Minister of Defence Salah El-Din Al-Namroush discussed on Sunday with the Spanish Ambassador to Libya Javier García-Larrache mechanisms to enhance cooperation between defense ministries of both countries.
