By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU cannot accept any alternative to the Berlin process’ inclusive political solution for the Libyan crisis, the bloc's chief spokesperson on foreign policy said on Monday, commenting on the Cairo Declaration.
“In general, any initiative in line with the UN-led Berlin process is a positive development. But no alternative to the inclusive political solution of the Berlin process, also confirmed by the UN, is acceptable,” Peter Stano said.
A political initiative was agreed on Saturday by Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi with speaker of Tobruk-based parliament Aquila Saleh and warlord Khalifa Haftar.
The Cairo Declaration calls for a cease-fire in Libya as of Monday and proposes a new assembly to form the House of Representatives and Presidential Council.
Neither the members of Libya’s internationally recognized government, nor their international allies were present at the conference in Cairo.
Only Russia showed support for the declaration.
Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a political deal led by the UN.
The government and the Western parts of the country have been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019.
In March, the Libyan government launched Operation Peace Storm to counter attacks on the capital, and recently regained strategic locations, including the Al-Watiya airbase and city of Tarhuna.
Last year, several high-level meetings were held in the German capital to put an end to the Libyan conflict, with the participation of world powers and regional actors.
The negotiations are known as the Berlin process.
According to the EU, this UN-backed negotiation process is the only acceptable way forward, because it seeks a peaceful solution based on multilateral talks.
