China supports political process on Libya issue, says China representative
Updated 17:14, 20-Jan-2020
CGTN

China's representative to the Libya summit in Berlin said the issue must be solved politically and related parties should agree to a ceasefire as soon as possible, said Yang Jiechi in Berlin on Sunday.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, attended the Berlin Conference on Libya as Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative.

China always upholds an objective and just position on the Libyan issue, respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Libya, and China supports a political process led by the Libyans under UN's supervision, said Yang.

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China is willing to play an active role in realizing lasting peace and stability in the country with global society, Yang noted.

China ready to contribute to restoring Libya's peace and stability

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing Monday that China has always maintained an objective and impartial position on the Libya issue, adhered to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, always respected Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and insisted on advancing political settlement in the guidance of the UN.

He added that China is willing to work with the international community to promote the implementation of the results of the Berlin Summit and make a positive contribution to restoring peace, stability and development in Libya.

'Respecting arms embargo and truce' agreement

(From left to right) European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame attend the Libya summit in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2020. /Reuters Photo

(From left to right) European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame attend the Libya summit in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2020. /Reuters Photo

The summit's participants have agreed to respect the arms embargo and truce in the war-torn north African country, pledging to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace.

"We had very serious negotiations here," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the media after the conference. "This conference made an important contribution to driving peace efforts forward."

"All participants agreed that 'we need a political solution'," said Merkel. "In the past few days, it had become clear once again that military intervention was by no means a solution. All participants worked very constructively together."

"We can say that everyone agrees that we want to respect the arms embargo," said Merkel, adding that all participants knew that today they could not solve all the problems in Libya, but that this is the first step.

"I believe that today the spirit has been created that we can move forward on the path. We have agreed on a very binding process," Merkel noted.

The Berlin Conference on Libya will be followed by the first steps to implementing the results. There should soon be a meeting that should lay the foundation for a solid ceasefire, said the German chancellor.

According to the 55-point Conference Conclusions issued after the meeting, all participants agree that "we commit to unequivocally and fully respect and implement the arms embargo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011) and the Council's subsequent Resolutions, including the proliferation of arms from Libya, and called on all international actors to do the same.

"We call on all actors to refrain from any activities exacerbating the conflict or inconsistent with the UNSC arms embargo or the ceasefire, including the financing of military capabilities or the recruitment of mercenaries," read the paper.

The paper stated that "we commit to efforts strengthening current monitoring mechanisms by the UN and competent national and international authorities, within our capabilities, including maritime, aerial and terrestrial monitoring, and through the provision of additional resources, in particular satellite imagery."

The Conference Conclusions explained that an International Follow-Up Committee (IFC) consisting of all countries and international organizations that participated in Sunday's Berlin Conference on Libya will be established in order to maintain coordination in the aftermath of the conference, under the aegis of the UN.

"I hope the commitments made today will contribute to a lasting solution to the Libya crisis. We need to have a ceasefire. We cannot monitor something that doesn't exist," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the press conference.

"It is a strong signal that we are fully committed to supporting a peaceful resolution of Libya crisis....We have a truce," said Guterres, who urged all participants not to do anything that could interfere with this path to a peaceful solution and refrain from interference in the conflict in Libya.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend the Libya summit in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2020. /Reuters Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend the Libya summit in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2020. /Reuters Photo

Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since 2011. Most recently, troops from Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj have been under attack since April from the troops of Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA).

Al-Sarraj and Haftar were both in Berlin but they refused to sit or meet with each other as tensions remained and differences too great between the two sides.

Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. The Berlin conference comes after the inter-Libyan talks held in Moscow on January 13 under the mediation of Russia and Turkey.

High-level representatives of Algeria, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of the Congo, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United States attended the conference, together with representatives of the UN, the African Union, the European Union, and the League of Arab States.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the participants.

(CGTN's Ira Spitzer also contributed to the story.)