Without Turkey and Qatar, the voice of war will discuss Libya at the upcoming Berlin conference

Sara Rashad

In parallel with the battles in the Libyan capital Tripoli more than seven months ago, new data has entered the scene after it was confirmed that an international conference will be held in the German capital Berlin, attended by parties concerned with the Libyan crisis.

Oliver Owcza, the German ambassador to Libya, revealed the start of a process of consultation with what he called “key international partners”, tweeting, “Thanks to sufficient preparatory work, such efforts will lead to a meaningful international event in the fall.”

German concern and hopeful stability

The German diplomat added that his country is concerned about the situation in Libya, and many share the need to make new efforts to stabilize Libya according to the three-point plan presented by the UN envoy in Libya, Ghassan Salame, which was based on an international meeting, along with the enforcement a strict arms embargo to prevent the flow of weapons to the Libyan theater, and also promoting strict adherence to international humanitarian law and human rights.

No details of the upcoming conference have been published and the date of the conference has not yet been announced. However, according to reports in the Libyan press, the conference was preceded by an undeclared preparatory meeting, which was held in Berlin on September 17 and was attended by representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Egypt, Russia, China, Turkey, the African Union and the Arab League, as well as UN envoy Ghassan Salame.

There is information that the conference may not be attended by the Libyan parties. Member of the House of Representatives Abdullah Belhaq said in an interview on October 9 that participation in the Berlin conference will be limited to international parties only, denying the House of Representatives any invitation to attend the conference, but the Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the capital Tripoli, has anticipated the events and issued a statement containing conditions for accepting to participate in the conference.

GNA’s terms

These conditions revealed the GNA’s fear of losing its gains, as it stipulated that the 2014 Skhirat Agreement should be the reference on which the forthcoming conference should be built, which means that the government feared the conference would create a new rule that would overthrow the Skhirat Agreement, which is supported by the GNA and its armed militias.

In addition, the GNA demanded it necessary for all international parties concerned with the Libyan crisis to be present. Belhaq discussed the possibility of excluding Qatar and Turkey from the conference, according to London newspaper Alarab.

The newspaper said that the two countries are facing great embarrassment at the international level following many signs of their complicity in the Libyan scene by providing weapons and money to the militias. This has led to the conference being held in their absence, which the GNA fears, as it finds Doha and Ankara to be its most prominent supporters.

In his reading of this conference, Libyan politician Mohammed al-Zubaidi stated that the conference does not have great ambitions despite the strict secrecy imposed on it, which indicates a sincere intention to find a solution.

He pointed out that past experiences have shown that finding a political solution in Libya will not happen as long as the international community continues to treat the militias as a legitimate party in the Libyan equation, adding that talk about the absence of Qatar and Turkey may be a good start to resolve the Libyan crisis.

Zubaidi said that the international community has been impatient with the GNA after being sure its cooperation with the militias, pointing out that the government has lost a large part of its legitimacy, and all that waits is an official announcement.

Meanwhile, Libyan politician Abdel-Moneim al-Yassir is also not optimistic about the conference in Berlin, stressing that the solution remains on the ground in reference to the battles in Tripoli.

This was evidenced by the conviction of the international community to prefer the GNA and its transforming an obstacle into a solution, according to Yassir. However, he did not accept modifying the course or exposing the GNA, stressing that the international community is too cowardly to admit its mistake against the Libyan people when it recognized the GNA.

He ruled out that any conference will make a shift on the Libyan scene, citing a series of meetings and conferences witnessed in Libya since 2011.

Optimists place high hopes on the Berlin conference, as some see Germany as far from the Libyan crisis and therefore a good party to mediate and resolve the dispute. Libyan reports state that the conference will be either at the end of October or the beginning of November at the latest.