Turkey, Russia unite to urge Libya ceasefire

ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Libya after talks in Istanbul, where they also inaugurated a "historic" gas pipeline.

The leaders used a joint statement to call for a truce from midnight on Sunday "supported by the necessary measures to be taken for stabilising the situation on the ground" in Libya, where they are seen as supporting opposing sides.

Last week, Turkey sent its first troops to help defend the UN-backed Tripoli government and Erdogan says there are 2,500 Russian mercenaries supporting renegade strongman Khalifa Haftar  a claim denied by Moscow.

EU leaders met the head of Libya's UN-recognised government on Wednesday, with Germany warning the country could deteriorate into a "second Syria".

Fayez Al Sarraj, whose beleaguered Government of National Accord is facing an offensive by rival forces who control the country's east, met EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell, who cautioned that Libya was facing a "watershed point".

He also met EU Council President Charles Michel and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who told reporters that "we want to prevent Libya from becoming the scene of a proxy war or Libya becoming a second Syria".

Borrell's and Maas' warnings came after military strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces  who have support from the UAE, Egypt and Russia  seized control of the coastal city of Sirte as part of his drive to take Tripoli and oust the GNA.

The EU pledged to "step up efforts towards a peaceful and political solution" in a statement released afterwards, hoping the so-called Berlin process  UN-sponsored talks planned for the German capital  can offer a way out.

Maas, who a day earlier took part in emergency talks on Libya with his French, British and Italian counterparts, said Sarraj had given his full support to the Berlin process and pledged to “push ahead with what is to be agreed there both a ceasefire and an arms embargo with the neighbouring states, but also above all the political process under the aegis of the United Nations”.

No date has been fixed for the Berlin conference, but Maas suggested it could happen in the coming weeks.

Borrell, who on Tuesday condemned Turkey for “interference” in the Libya conflict, earlier in the day warned that the situation in Libya was becoming increasingly perilous.

Michel is due in Turkey this weekend for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while Borrell plans to meet other Libyan leaders including Haftar in search of a breakthrough.

Ankara says it has sent 35 Turkish troops who are carrying out training and coordination tasks to support the GNA, insisting they will not take part in any fighting.

Libya has been plunged into chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that killed longstanding Muammar Qadhafi, and is now divided between the GNA and Haftar’s rival authorities based in the country’s east.