Ceasefire in Libya, Syria's Idlib Generally Observed — Turkish Defence Ministry

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Ceasefire, brokered by Russia and Turkey in western Libya and the Syrian province of Idlib since Sunday midnight, has been generally observed, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"On January 8 at a summit in Istanbul, the presidents of Turkey and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in Libya and Idlib and called upon the sides to implement ceasefire. The ceasefire has been in effect in Libya and Idlib since 00:01 [22:01] of January 12. From the start, the sides in both regions have tried to observe ceasefire, and, except for 1-2 scattered cases, the situation has been remaining calm," the ministry said.

According to the statement, the ceasefire is being closely monitored.

"Ceasefire in both regions is an important step to ensuring peace and stability by ending attacks, preventing migration flows and restoring normal life," the statement read.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul

© AFP 2023 / ALEXEY DRUZHININ

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Libya starting midnight 12 January and urged the conflicting parties to sit down for talks.  

The situation in Libya has been tense in the past few weeks after the Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar had ordered his troops to advance on the Libyan capital of Tripoli, controlled by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Libya has been in a state of civil war since the ouster and assassination of the then leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country is now divided between two centres of power: an elected parliament in the country's east, and the UN-backed GNA in the west.