Germany hosts summit on Libya, seeks to halt proxy fighting

BERLIN (AP) — Germany brought together the key players in Libya’s long-running civil war on Sunday, seeking to curb foreign military interference, solidify a cease-fire and help relaunch a political process to stop the chaos in the North African nation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed leaders from 12 countries as well as the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League to the summit at the chancellery in Berlin. Germany’s months-long diplomatic drive seeks to bolster efforts by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, to stop the fighting in Libya.

Among those attending were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Libya's two main rival leaders, Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, also came to Berlin. Merkel and her foreign minister met both men at the chancellery ahead of the summit.

The chances of the summit producing any real progress were unclear, however. A truce brokered earlier this month by Russia and Turkey marked the first break in fighting in months, but the cease-fire has seen repeated violations.

Differences were in full view ahead of the meeting. Speaking Sunday in Istanbul, Erdogan said the world had failed to respond adequately to Hifter’s “reckless attacks” on Sarraj's U.N.-recognized government.

“Hopes that flourish again with the cease-fire and the Berlin summit should not be sacrificed to the ambitions of the merchants of blood and chaos," he said.

Erdogan met Putin in Berlin just before the summit. The Russian leader said "we will sincerely strive for the conflict...