Is the UN going to send an international mission to Libya ?

The manoeuvres of Marshal Haftar, who is threatening the internationally recognized regime, are on the menu of a summit in Berlin.

The hypothesis of an international presence in Libya, in particular to ensure the implementation of the cease-fire, has made its way to the foreign leaders meeting Sunday in Berlin. The idea had been partly relaunched Saturday, on the eve of the international conference in Berlin, by the head of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNA, recognized by the UN), Fayez al-Sarraj.

“If Khalifa Haftar does not stop his offensive, the international community will have to intervene with an international force to protect the Libyan civilian population,” he said in an interview with the German daily “Die Welt”.

Such an armed mission should be “under the aegis of the United Nations” and it should be decided whether the European Union, the African Union or the Arab League should participate.

 

The United Kingdom and Italy in favour

The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell on Friday called on Europeans to “overcome their divisions” and become more involved in finding a solution to end the conflict. The idea was taken up on Sunday by some of the leaders of the eleven countries taking part in the conference.

“If there was a ceasefire, we could obviously do what we do very well, which is to send people, experts to monitor the ceasefire,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his arrival in Berlin.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was even more assertive on his arrival in the German capital: “Let’s finish today’s conference, let’s hope that the outcome will be what we’ve been working for and then there will certainly be a problem of strength that can ensure peace operations and monitoring”.

“I have discussed this with (Antonio) Guterres (UN Secretary General), Italy is ready to contribute”, Giuseppa Conte assured about the former Italian colony.

 

Russia not opposed to international intervention

Russia, one of the powers that cannot be ignored in the settlement of the Libyan situation, does not seem to be closed to this eventuality either.

“I think that this issue should be discussed on the basis of a consensus,” said Mikhail Bogdanov, Vladimir Putin’s special representative for the Middle East and Africa, quoted by the state-run news agency RIA Novosti. The Russian representative stressed that a possible decision on sending an international force to Libya did not depend solely on Fayez al-Sarraj.

“We assume that even the results of the Berlin conference will be discussed in the UN Security Council, which is the only body that can take binding decisions,” Vladimir Putin’s adviser said.

The primary goal of the UN summit, which opened in the early afternoon and is scheduled to end late in the evening, is to put an end to the multiple foreign interferences in this state, where clashes are fuelled by appetites over its large oil reserves, regional political rivalries and games of influence.