The EU and Libya: Rediscovering a Realpolitik — Valdai Club
Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Mali, Libya, Syria – tens of “failed states” could be added to this list during the 2020s. The West blames Russia and Turkey for the militarisation of the Arab world. However, the West was responsible for the initial chaos, when it interfered in the events of the Arab world without any strategy or plan. Above all, the EU wants to dismantle the overcrowded refugee camps in Libya, which now resemble concentration camps. The neighbouring Arab countries, which mostly have economic interests in Libya, will want compensation for their non-interference.
Source:Libya Today
January 22, 2020 12:00 UTC
Erdogan to be questioned if he sends mercenaries to Libya: UN envoy
U.N. Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame talks during a news conference in Rome - REUTERSCAIRO - 21 January 2020: United Nations special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame confirmed Tuesday that he has evidence to hold Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accountable if he sends mercenaries to Libya.According to Russia Today, Salame stressed that Erdogan pledged in the fifth item of the closing statement of the Berlin Summit on Libya not to interfere in Libya's domestic affairs. "A draft law on the surrender of foreign fighters in Libya will be submitted to the 5+5 UN ceasefire monitoring committee," he added.Salame informed the Security Council at the end of June that he failed to reach a deal on ceasefire with Libyan parties after the outbreak of the war in April 2019.The regional international summit on Libya concluded on January 19, with an agreement to implement the arms embargo to Libya and forma military committee of five officers from Al-Wefaq Government and five others from the Libyan National Army with the aim of converting the current armistice into a permanent ceasefire.Participants in the Berlin Summit on Libya issued a final statement calling for strengthening the armistice in the country, stopping attacks on oil facilities and forming a unified Libyan military force, and banning the supply of weapons to Libya.
Source:Libya Today
January 22, 2020 10:30 UTC
HCS refers Geneva delegation list to UNSMIL
The High Council of State (HCS) has referred its decision with respect to approving the formation of the Political Dialogue Committee in Geneva to the UN envoy in Libya, Ghassan Salame. In a letter addressed to Salame, the HCS called for the start of the implementation of the military track arrangements that were agreed upon at the Berlin meeting, in addition to the commitment to the ceasefire process. It also underlined that the return of the displaced to their homes is a precondition for any political process, stressing that the Skhirat Agreement must be the only framework for the political dialogue process to be held in Geneva.
Source:Libya Observer
January 22, 2020 10:18 UTC
2022 World Cup African qualifiers draw revealed
Salah - fileEgypt was put into a strong group in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.Gabon, Libya, Angola, will compete with the Egyptian team for only one qualifier to the final stage.The Egyptian team should lead the group, for an opportunity to meet one of the other nine leaders in the final stage to reach the World Cup that will be held in the winter of 2022 in Qatar.Egypt aims to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row and the fourth in the history of the Pharaohs.It is the first time for Egypt to play against Gabon in any official qualifications, where they met twice in friendly games, in which the team won 4-0, and 2-0 in 2000 and 2004, respectively.But Egypt previously fell to Gabon in the 1994 African Nations Cup, and then the team won 4-0 as well.As for Angola, Egypt faced them 5 times.Two of them were in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, when Egypt won in Home with the goal of Hossam Hassan, and they tied away without goals.The last confrontation was in the 2008 African Nations Cup, when Hassan Shehata's sons won 2-1 on their way to winning the title in Ghana.As for the Libyan team, Egypt faced them 21 times, the Pharaohs won 13 times, drew 3 times, and the team lost 5 times.In the World Cup qualifiers, the Pharaohs fell to Libya only once, in the 2006 qualifiers, when the Egyptians lost 2-1 in Tripoli, and they won 4-1 in Egypt.The first round of playoffs will be played between 5 and 13 October, while the second round will take place between 9 and 17 November 2020.In 2021, the third and fourth round of the World Cup qualifiers will take place between 22 and 30 March.The fifth round will take place between August 30 and September 7, and the sixth round will take place between October 4 and 12.The final round of the World Cup qualifiers will remain as scheduled, between 8 and 16 November 2021.
Source:Libya Today
January 22, 2020 09:33 UTC
UN chief urges ceasefire in Libya to start political process
The truce is having some violations but not widespread violations. We need to move to a ceasefire, and from the ceasefire, we need to move (to) a real political process and we are not yet there,” Guterres told reporters. He said Tuesday’s Security Council meeting is important as it laid pressure on the parties to the conflict and those who have an influence on the situation to make sure that this roadmap is followed. The role of the Security Council is essential,” said Guterres, who attended the Berlin conference on Sunday. He expressed the belief that the endorsement of the conclusions of the Berlin conference by the UN Security Council and other follow-up steps could be extremely important.
Source:Libya Today
January 22, 2020 03:33 UTC
Libya’s NOC Confirms It Virtually Lost All Of Its Oil Production
Libya’s National Oil Company has confirmed that is has lost virtually all of its oil production, at 1.2 million barrels per day of oil production, and $77 million in daily financial loss, according to the Libya Herald. The US Embassy in Libya today announced that the NOC should be allowed to immediately resume oil operations that have been offline since this weekend, after groups loyal to General Khalifa Haftar blocked all major oil ports. The NOC responded favorably to the US calls for resuming oil production, but said that “operations can only resume when illegal blockades are lifted. All responsible parties should lift blockades and respect rule of law.”Libya’s oil production, according to secondary sources provided in OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report for January, was 1.139 million bpd as of December. Supplies to the Ubari power plant in the south has also been disrupted, and when existing supplies run out, this power plant will shut down as well.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 22:07 UTC
The Daily Brief 2020-01-20
This is a summary of 14 AMN articles on the following subjects: Idlib, Syria, Baghdad, Iraq, Russia, Libya, Tripoli, China, Ukraine, Assad, Erdogan, Hasakah, US, ISIS, Khmeimim, Turkey, Aleppo, Iran, Soleimani, Hmeimim. Categories covered in this brief: Syria, Iraq, North-Africa, Turkey, Iran, MiddleeastLet us know how you like this brief in the comments below. He earlier discussed the situation in Idlib with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the talks in Berlin. Meanwhile, media reports say that Ankara is handing over weapons to pro-Turkish Syrian groups in order to stop Assad’s offensive. Air defense systems successfully thwarted the attack, and the military installation suffered no damage, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 21:56 UTC
US Calls On Libya To Immediately Resume Oil Production
The U.S. Embassy in Libya said on Tuesday that the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) should be allowed to immediately resume oil operations that were suspended over the weekend after groups loyal to General Khalifa Haftar blocked virtually all oil production and exports from the African oil producer. “We are deeply concerned that the suspension of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in Libya and inflicting further needless suffering on the Libyan people. NOC operations should resume immediately,” the U.S. Embassy in Libya said, as the OPEC member’s major oil export pipelines and ports remained blocked for a third day. On Sunday, 800,000 bpd—more than half of Libya’s oil production of around 1.4 million bpd—was taken offline after forces loyal to Haftar blocked the oil ports in eastern Libya which are under the control of Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). After the calls for port blockades on Friday, Libya’s NOC said in a statement, via its chairman Mustafa Sanalla:“If the fields are shut, the production loss will be immediate.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 20:26 UTC
Oil Falls Despite Major Outage In Libya
Despite an escalation in Libya's oil war, crude prices fell on Tuesday morning as a deadly virus in China sparked fears of an economic slowdown. Venezuela’s oil production has stabilized at lower levels – at a little over 700,000 bpd – despite the ongoing sanctions. Nymex natural gas prices have plunged below $2/MMBtu, a level not seen in years. But large oil and gas companies could play a constructive role in accelerating the deployment of clean energy, the agency said. That means that spending on offshore wind could exceed that of offshore oil and gas in the next few years.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 19:52 UTC
Cameroon drawn to face Ivory Coast in World Cup qualifying
APCAIRO (AP) — Cameroon and Ivory Coast were drawn in the same World Cup qualifying group on Tuesday, meaning one of the West African soccer powers won't make the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The first group games are in October and the winners of the 10 groups will be drawn into two-legged playoffs to decide the final five African teams at the World Cup. Egypt and Senegal both qualified for the last World Cup in Russia and will be looking to repeat. Both Cameroon and Ivory Coast missed out and are up against each other in Group D, which also contains Mozambique and Malawi. Nigeria was drawn with Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Liberia in Group C as it tries to reach a fourth straight World Cup and eighth overall.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 19:18 UTC
Egypt draw Gabon, Libya in 2022 World Cup qualifiers
Thank you for reading the news about Egypt draw Gabon, Libya in 2022 World Cup qualifiers and now with the detailsDubai - Yasmine El Tohamy - Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesEgypt were drawn in a balanced group alongside Libya, Angola, and Gabon in the second round of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. CAF’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers draw took place on Tuesday, January 21st at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cairo, Egypt. All 40 participating countries have been placed in four different pots depending on their most recent FIFA World Ranking. The winners of each tie will advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Pharaohs, who will look for the fourth World Cup participation, were put in group six alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon, Angola, and Libya.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 18:33 UTC
China health concerns hangs over markets, sterling lifted by jobs report
Comparisons are being drawn with the SARS crisis, which is why dealers are cutting their exposure to equity markets. In the three month period, the company said the revenue per passenger metric rose by 9.7%, revenue from ancillary services jumped by 10.8%. Long-haul air carriers like Lufthansa, International Consolidated Airlines, and Air France are all lower today on the back of the coronavirus fears as travel to and from China are likely to be impacted by the story. USThe mood on Wall Street is slightly downbeat given the health concerns surrounding China. WTI and Brent crude are a little lower today in the wake of the push higher yesterday – which was driven by supply concerns.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 17:26 UTC
US embassy calls for ‘immediate resumption’ of oil operations in Libya
The US called on Tuesday for an immediate resumption of Libyan oil exports that have been blocked by forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar since last week. The suspension of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations “risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in Libya and inflicting further needless suffering on the Libyan people,” the US embassy in Tripoli tweeted. Haftar’s forces, at war with fighters loyal to the UN-recognized Government of National Accord, blocked oil exports from Libya’s main ports on Saturday, the day before an international peace conference. The move to stop the country’s main source of income was a protest against Turkey’s decision to send troops to shore up Haftar’s rivals, AFP said. The action has suspended operations from Libya’s “oil crescent,” blocking several export terminals including the ports of Brega, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 17:08 UTC
Key to a resolution of the conflict: Libya Conference in Berlin - Libya
The German Government is supporting the work of UN Special Representative Ghassan Salamé through the Berlin Process. UN Secretary-General Guterres and his Special Representative to Libya, Ghassan Salamé, chaired the meeting together with Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Maas. Foreign Minister Maas announced after the conference that the committee was to start work in Berlin in early February within the framework of a foreign ministers’ conference. This week, the UN Security Council will consider the conclusions of the Berlin Libya Conference, in particular the arms embargo. This has been initiated by a Security Council resolution and its compliance will be overseen by a Security Council committee which Germany has chaired since 2019.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 16:18 UTC
France and Algeria pledge Libya ceasefire co-ordination
Thank you for your reading and interest in the news France and Algeria pledge Libya ceasefire co-ordination and now with detailsHind Al Soulia - Riyadh - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France will co-ordinate with Algeria's efforts for a ceasefire in Libya after the north African country offered to hold inter-Libyan talks on its soil. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Sophia could be used only if it is “dismantled and reassembled in a completely different way”. AFP Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres attends a press conference on the International Libya Conference in Berlin. Getty Images UN Special Envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame attends a press conference on the International Libya Conference in Berlin. EPA Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the conference on Libya at the Chancellery in Berlin.
Source:Libya Today
January 21, 2020 16:07 UTC