"We took a very positive step during the meeting in Istanbul, we called on both parties in Libya to observe a ceasefire, to cease hostilities, and despite the fact that certain incidents still occur, both sides have heeded our call and large-scale military actions have stopped", Putin said during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan before Sunday’s Libya peace conference in Berlin.
Putin stated that this was a positive result and had helped create the necessary conditions for Sunday’s summit in the German capital. The Russian president also noted the intra-Libyan talks in Moscow on Monday that concluded with the LNA refusing to sign a ceasefire deal, after the UN-backed Government of National Accord agreed to the terms.
"We worked energetically together to bring a positive conclusion to the meeting between the conflicting parties in Moscow. The very fact that they arrived in Moscow, conducted negotiations not only with us, but with each other, I think that we should thank our colleagues, the foreign and defence ministers, who made every effort to ensure that the conflicting parties agreed and supported a joint agreement", Putin remarked.
The Russian president added that Moscow had not lost hope a signed ceasefire deal could be reached in the near future.
"Indeed, not everything was successful. One of the sides has so far, in any case, not supported it [a ceasefire agreement], but we do not lose hope that dialogue will continue and we will sincerely strive to ensure the resolution of the conflict", Putin stated.
