OREANDA-NEWS. The call of the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, to the parties to the conflict in Libya to stop hostilities should be supported by other influential players, this will allow de-escalation to be achieved. Such an opinion was made on Wednesday by Andrei Kortunov, Director General of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, in an interview with a Russian media correspondent.

“It’s good that we managed to somehow agree. This reduces the risks of the Russian-Turkish confrontation around Libya or even in Libya itself”, he said. “This may be the first step towards some broader, multilateral understanding of the situation. Now, by logically, each of the parties should start working with its partners or with those close to it. Turkey could start working with the UAE or involve Italians. Russia could hold some consultations with France and Germany".

“At the moment, there are no levers that would allow a truce in the hands of Moscow and Ankara. This agreement must somehow be extended to other players who have a certain influence on the parties to the conflict”, the expert continued. “You can’t talk about a Libyan settlement without some involvement of at least the UAE, not to mention the Saudis behind them, and so on".