Germany plans to hold Libya summit on January 19 – report

Berlin plans to hold a summit aimed at “plotting a path to peace in Libya” on January 19, Reuters reported on Monday, citing two participants in the preparatory negotiations. The summit will coincide with a one-day visit to Berlin by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His presence is seen as essential to the success of any conference on Libya, since Ankara’s decision to deploy military advisers and possibly troops there has made it a major player in the civil war.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the summit on Saturday, adding that the United Nations would lead talks if a meeting were to take place in Berlin. She said Libya’s warring parties would need to play a major role if a solution was to be found. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said there were plans to hold a Libya conference in Berlin in January but declined to confirm the date.

The report from Berlin came as Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), and his rival, the Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar planned peace talks in Moscow on Monday.