The European Union must work toward achieving a ceasefire in Libya, the bloc’s top diplomat said on Tuesday, calling on Turkey not to send military experts and technical teams to support Libya’s internationally recognized government.
“We asked for a ceasefire and we asked also to stop the escalation and to end external interference, which has been increasing in the last days,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters following a meeting with British, Italian, German and French foreign ministers.
The move follows a flare-up of fighting in Libya as Turkey deployed troops to support the UN-backed government of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli.
Following a meeting with foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, Borrell on Tuesday (7 January) called for an immediate ceasefire in and around Tripoli.
He told reporters in Brussels that outside interference in Libya was only making the crisis worse.
“It is obvious that this makes a reference to the Turkish decision to intervene with their troops in Libya which is something we reject and increases our situation of worries in Libya,” he said.
According to Borrell, the meeting was meant to “reaffirm our commitment to immediately halt the fighting around Tripoli and to discuss how the EU can further contribute to the UN mediation and to a swift return to political negotiations.”
Borrell reiterated that an “immediate cessation of hostilities” would be crucial to calm the situation in the country, underlining the EU’s support for the UN-led efforts to return to the negotiation table.
Italy’s Di Maio welcomed the outcome of the meeting, saying that the common work in Libya will be cohesive. “As for tomorrow, the EU will speak with one voice,” he told reporters.
On Wednesday evening, another meeting is scheduled to take place in Cairo on the demarcation of territorial waters agreed earlier by the Libyan and Turkish government, with the participation of the Italian, French, Cypriot and Greek foreign ministers.
